Splatoon: Agent 3 Begins
by Finley Splatterson
Summary: Meet Finley, a shy cyan Inkling boy trying to adjust to life on his own in Inkopolis. After a chance encounter with a famous pair of Inkling girls in a diner, his life takes an unexpected turn when he reluctantly becomes a special agent with the job of saving the city from an incoming invasion. Will he be able to pull it off or will he be splatted? (Based on Single-player campaign)
1. New Beginninks

**_Authors Note_ : Okay. Well, this is...gonna be interesting. Just a warning: this is _THE FIRST THING THAT I HAVE EVER PUT ON THE INTERNET! EVER! _ I am nervous beyond belief. But I finally worked up the nerve and decided to publish this online, and I thought this site would be a good spot. Also, this is my first full story/fanfiction that I've ever written and completed fully, so if you review this, _please _ go easy on me if you don't like it. Constructive criticism could help. Anyway,** **this story is (yet another) Splatoon fanfiction based on the Single-Player Campaign, but with other ideas. (Side note: I don't own a WiiU and therefore don't have Splatoon, but I've seen/read enough stuff about it that I completely understand the concept.) Regardless, hope you'll enjoy this. [The only thing I truly own is the main character/narrator's name.]**

* * *

 _Splatoon_

Chapter 1: New "Beginninks"

Okay, let me start by saying this: for those of you reading this having no idea what's about to happen, I'll start from the beginning with a little background info.

First off, introductions.

I am an Inkling. If you somehow don't know, an Inkling is a type of squid that has this really cool ability to switch between two forms: a flat squid form and a "human" form (at least, I'm pretty sure that's what they were called "humans"). While in squid form, Inklings have two large tentacles; and while in "human" form, those tentacles become their hair which matches the color they are as a squid (ex. orange squid has orange hair). It sounds weird sure, but I'm actually not the only one. There are Inklings all over. Most Inklings are able to change forms at will once they turn fourteen years old; and when this happens, they're able to live on our own. Often when this happens, the average Inkling looks for the first train ticket to Inkopolis, the Inkling capitol of the world. However, because so many Inklings want to go all at once, only a few tickets are sold at a time. It may take a while, but persistence might pay off. What they do in the city, I have no clue, but I'll find out soon enough.

My name's Finley Splatterson. It took me about two years before I was able to get a train ticket, but eventually I finally got one. I'm a sixteen year old cyan Inkling boy, and I'm now heading toward Inkopolis for the first time, and I'm having mixed emotions about it. Part of me is super excited and hoping great times are around the corner, but the other part...well, not so much. My parents thought that I should experience the world firsthand. Of course, I was anxious about being on my own, but I knew eventually that the day would come. I packed up all my essentials and got the last ticket for the last train to Inkopolis. After some heartfelt goodbyes from my parents and siblings, I boarded the train.

While on the train, I started daydreaming about what my new life was gonna be like. New people, places, foods, and clothes that I've never seen before...this was unreal.

 _Little did I know what was in store for me when I got to my destination..._

I was brought out of my thoughts when I heard an announcement (which was loud enough that I could hear through the headphones I were wearing).

"Ladies and gentlesquids, we have reached the city of Inkopolis. We will arrive shortly at the station located in Inkopolis Plaza."

Some of the other Inklings on the train began cheering quietly. It won't be long now.

When the train stopped, I heard a little jingle that sounded oddly...familiar.

The doors opened. I got my bags, stepped outside, and found myself staring at several giant buildings.

"This is it, Fin," I thought. "You're new life is about to begin, and you're gonna make the best of it. Can't be too hard, right?"

Suddenly, I got pushed to the ground and run over by several other Inklings who looked like they were in a hurry. Luckily for Inklings, we don't have bones so nothing broken. But it still hurt...

"I just _had_ to say something..." I groaned as I got up, dusted myself off, and gathered my luggage. "Well, I've packed, traveled, and arrived. Welcome to Inkopolis."

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 _ **AN**_ **: Sorry if this seemed so short. It is just the beginning after all. So...what did you think? Review if you want.**

 **Also, now seems to be a good time to give a little bio on Finley (my Inkling OC).**

 **Hair color : Cyan**

 **Eye color : Red (extremely rare for Inklings; it is uncertain where he got them, but it may have been from an ancestor)**

 ** _Skin color_ : Brown**

 **Age : 16**

 **Personality : Friendly, loyal, humble, and trustworthy, but also terribly shy and anxious (especially in crowds due a bit of teasing for his eye color as a child). Not too outgoing, but willing to try something new (to an extent). Can be sarcastic and snarky at times and quick to have a smart comeback if someone is rude to him or someone else. Likes to have fun, but knows when to get serious. Most of the time he's calm and soft spoken, which can be useful if he needs to keep the peace, but he can easily panic if things get to crazy for him to handle. He's also a quick learner. Despite having low confidence in himself, he keeps trying to have some confidence in whatever he's doing, but often if he expresses it aloud or even in thought, it immediately gets taken away in some form.**

 **Physical description : Thin build, slightly taller than normal Inkling boys. Often wears a cyan hoodie, red headphones, round glasses (which he wears because he has somewhat poor eyesight and doesn't like contacts), and black and blue shoes. Most of the time, he carries around a black and red backpack that his parents gave him as a parting gift.**

 **[I am not a part of Nintendo. Anything related to the world of Splatoon is owned by them. All I own is Finley.]**


	2. Settling In

Splatoon

Chapter 2: Settling In

I took a deep breath. Seeing all of these Inklings was a bit overwhelming. I can't say that I wasn't nervous. Several different colored Inklings seemed to be headed in the same direction. Just as I began moving, two more Inklings ran passed me and in the same direction as all the rest. Pretty soon, curiosity got the best of me when even more boys and girls started going there so I decided to check out what exactly was going on.

I took all my luggage and followed the crowd to the other side of where I exited the train. Next thing I knew, I heard some music playing in the air as if it was coming from speakers outside. Once I noticed that the crowd dispersed, I found myself standing at the entrance of a large plaza which I assumed was the Inkopolis Plaza that I heard about.

"I guess this is the main hangout," I thought. "Let's see what it has to offer." I took a minute to see what was in the plaza.

The plaza was filled with Inklings of all kinds walking around with friends or just relaxing. On my left was a mall made up of four shops. Three of them appeared to be selling shoes, clothes, and hats separately. Next to the hat shop, was another shop, but I wasn't too sure what it was selling. On my right was another building with two floors. The bottom floor didn't have too much, but a large ramp led to a balcony on the second floor. I think there was some kind of dojo up there along with what looked like some sort of studio. I assumed it was a studio because a _huge_ screen hung over the building. The biggest clothing building and the studio had two giant animal statues on them. The shop had a fox with a red scarf, and the studio had a tanuki with a green scarf.

"Interesting placement for those statues..." I thought aloud.

Aside from these buildings, the focal point of the plaza seemed to be a very tall green radio tower. Several Inklings holding some objects that looked like big weapons were clamoring by the entrance. Strangely, the weapons didn't look dangerous; they looked kinda...fun to use. Each weapon had a tube connected to a tank. But I was confused when I saw them. What were the weapons for? I tried to ask someone around the area the same question, but they all laughed and assumed I was joking. After giving up asking, I noticed an Inkling girl walking out of the store closest to the tower while holding one of those weapons and a tank.

"Seems like I'm about to get an answer."

I walked toward the store and noticed the name of it: Ammo Knights. When I stepped inside, I was surprised to see various weapons hanging on the walls.

"Okay...this is the weapon shop," I said. "Good to know..."

"Oooh, a customer!" an excited voice said. I looked around to see who said that. Soon, I heard some clattering coming from a room behind a glass counter, and I saw a horseshoe crab shell move in front of the counter.

I slowly went up to it. "Um...hello?"

Suddenly, I was startled when somebody popped up from under the shell. He wore a military suit with a red scarf and belt. He also had a pair of binoculars strapped onto his eyes. His shell was resting on his head making it look like he was wearing a war helmet. He greeted me with a smile.

"Hello, hello!" he said exuberantly. "Welcome to Ammo Knights! What kind of weapon are you in the market for?"

I was frozen for a second, but I quickly recovered to answer. "Uh, h-hi. I actually have a question."

"Okay, sir, ask away."

I hesitated. "Well...I'm new to Inkopolis and I just was wondering: what's with everyone having weapons? What are they for exactly?"

The horseshoe crab chuckled. "Oh, that's a good one, sir."

However, once he stopped and looked at me, his smile faded. "Oh...you're serious..."

I nodded. "I'm afraid so."

"So...you have no idea what a Turf War is?"

I shook my head. "I've heard people talk about them, but I've never seen or been in one. I don't even know the rules."

The young shopkeeper gasped in surprise. "You _must_ be new here if you don't know anything about those! What's your name?"

"Uh, Finley. I just got off the train that came here a while ago."

"Well, first, nice to meet you, Finley. My name's Sheldon. And let me be the first to say, 'Welcome to Inkopolis'."

"Thanks."

"Second, I'd like to know: would you like me to explain how Turf Wars work? They're pretty big in this city and almost everybody competes in them."

"I would appreciate it. Thank you. So how do they work."

Sheldon proceeded to explain how Turf Wars work. Only problem is that I think he kinda overdid the explanation because it felt like it took longer than I would've preferred. It probably felt longer because he took the time to explain to me how each type of weapon worked. But what I was basically this: two Inkling teams use their weapons to spread their teams ink color over a certain area. Whoever covers more ground within the given amount of time wins.

"Alright, now I know," I said as he finished. "They sound kinda fun. I wish I can compete in one."

"You can!" Sheldon exclaimed. "All you've gotta do is go into Inkopolis Tower and wait for seven more players to join with you."

"That's it? Great! But, wait, I don't have a weapon."

"Oh, right! I almost forgot!" Sheldon ran back into the room behind the counter and came back holding a little rectangular blaster and a tank. "This is the Splattershot Jr. and your ink tank. Normally, Inklings have their own when they come to this city. This may be the first time I've had to give one out because most already knew what a Turf War was..."

I looked away sheepishly.

"But this is a first actually: you're probably the first person to come in here already fresh enough to have this. And because it's you're first day in Inkopolis, you can have these on the house."

"S-Seriously?!" I said as I took the blaster and tank.

"Yep. I normally don't do this, but you seem like you could be good in a Turf War. However, this is the only one that I'll give you for free. Any other weapons are normal price from now on."

"Okay." I looked around to see some of the other weapons. "Well, maybe it's best if I start easy now anyway."

"This _is_ for beginners, after all. Come back anytime you like."

"I will. Thanks, Sheldon." I turned to leave the store.

Once I left, I noticed that the sun was already setting and several people were starting to leave the plaza.

"How long was I in there?" I thought. I looked at my watch which read 9:00 PM . I went into Ammo Knights at around 6:00. "I was in there for three hours?! How did I...oh...Sheldon's explanation..." He needs to work on his summarizing.

I groaned and took out a paper with directions to my new apartment. After some walking deeper into the city (and getting something to eat), I came across a tall nice looking building and sure enough it was the place. I walked inside and went up to a woman at the counter reading a magazine.

"Um...excuse me, ma'am?" I said to get her attention.

"Oh, hello," she said sweetly." Welcome to Sunset Sea Apartments. How may I help you?"

"Uh, I believe that I have an apartment ready for me here..."

"Oh, really?" She took out a binder with a list of names. "Alright, here we go. What's your last name?"

"Splatterson."

The lady looked through the binder for a few seconds. "Splatterson, Splatter-AH! Here we are. Your first name is Finley?"

"That's right."

"Alright, we've had a couple calling to tell us that their son is coming to live in one of the apartments here by himself and that they have already paid the first two months rent for the apartment."

"Yep. That's my parents." They said that after the first two months, I was on my own when it came to rent.

"May I see some I.D.?" I handed it to her.

She then proceeded to ask me a bunch of questions. When she saw that everything checked out, she nodded approvingly.

"Okay," she said cheerily. "Everything seems to be in order. Here's the key for your apartment on the top floor." She handed it to me.

"Thank you." (Top floor? I didn't see that coming...)

"You're welcome. I hope you'll enjoy your stay. Have a good evening."

"You, too." I took my luggage and went to the elevator. The top floor seemed be the twentieth. Everyone else must've been in their apartments because the elevator never stopped until I got to my floor.

I found my apartment and went in, but as soon as I did a wave of tiredness hit me. It's been a long day and my body started to give out. I lazily put my bags near the living room couch and went into the bedroom. I jumped onto the bed and quickly fell asleep.

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 ** _AN_ : Well, that's the end of chapter 2 (and n** **o, I don't plan to end each chapter with Finley sleeping).** **I do have more chapters coming very soon (hopefully, daily). This story is also an attempt to see how good/bad I am at writing first-person perspective stories with good detailed descriptions. If some things were unneeded or I make some other grammar/punctuation mistakes, my apologies; I'm not a perfect writer. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this.**


	3. Secret Celebrities

Splatoon: Agent 3 Begins

Chapter 3: Secret Celebrities

A good night sleep was just what I needed. I woke up well-rested and somewhat upbeat. Once I sat up, I was confused about where I was, but then I remembered that I wasn't in my normal house. I was in my new apartment.

"This is gonna take some time to get used too..." I said. I got out of bed and explored my new home.

It had all the standard rooms an apartment normally has: bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and living room. I put my suitcases in my bedroom to unpack later, quickly washed up, and put on some new clothes (and by "new clothes", I mean a different shirt still covered by my favorite hoodie). I went into the living room and turned on the television that sat on a table in front of the couch. The first thing that came up was the news channel. Normally, I don't watch the news, but since I was in a different city, I decided to watch it to see what it was like here.

The logo for Inkopolis News came on screen with a melodic jingle. Two strangely familiar-looking Inkling girls appeared standing on opposite sides of a big screen behind them. The one on the left wore a sleeveless black and magenta dress that ended in shorts, and she had on a rectangular white and pink hat. She also had long black tentacles with a shade of pink at the ends tied into a large bow behind her head with the ends dangling.

"Goooood morning, Inkopolis! It's time to rise and shine!" she shouted excitedly with a big smile.

"And time to get ready for another day of splatastic Turf Wars," the other girl said calmly. She wore almost the exact same dress, but instead, it ended in a skirt and anything that was pink on the first girl was a light green on her. Her tentacles were shorter, white with green at the ends, and tied into a bow on the right side of her head with the ends wrapped around to the other side.

"That's right. The Inkopolis Tower is now open! So come down to the plaza and get your splat on," the pink one continued.

"But before you do, head over to the Booyah Base if you wanna look fresh doing it."

"Battle stages are the same as yesterday."

"Yup. Port Mackerel and Saltspray Rig."

"We'll announce when the next stages will be open. But until next time..."

"Staaaay fresh!" they said in unison as they did a cute little pose. That pose suddenly made me remember who they were. They were the Squid Sisters, Callie (in pink) and Marie (in green). They were a famous idol duo. I guess they must've lived in this city and did the news broadcasts. (Personally, I kinda liked their songs, but that's beside the point.)

I was brought out of my thoughts when my stomach started rumbling. It was almost noon, and I've never had my breakfast yet. I turned off the TV and grabbed my backpack. I put my ink tank and shooter inside of it hoping that I'll be able to play in a Turf War later. I decided to go out to eat, and once I got everything that I needed I left my apartment building to not only sightsee but also find a good restaurant.

After some time walking toward the plaza, I stumbled upon a nice little diner that looked like it had a lot of business today. It was almost packed, but at this point I was starving, so I didn't care. I went inside and asked for a booth to sit in. The waitress who took my order looked a little startled when she looked at me. I could also tell that other people who saw me looked at me with a curious expression. And I knew why.

My eyes are red...but not from irritation or tiredness. They're naturally red. Some people thought they looked strange, but it's not my fault. Someone in my family line probably had them, too. I've been told that red eyes are extremely rare for Inklings. Many people noticed them and had several reactions to them. Some thought they were unique, but many thought that they just looked creepy. And I had a feeling that that most of the people in the diner thought they were freaky. To avoid any more stares, I sat in a booth in the furthest corner of the diner facing away from the other customers.

I ordered some pancakes. After I finished, I realized that somehow every other customer in the diner had already left leaving me alone there. Just as I was about to leave, an eruption of people screaming came from outside. I looked out the window and saw two girls running from something and into the diner. One was wearing a pink beanie, some sunglasses, a pink T-shirt, black shorts, and pink and black shoes. The other had a green hat, a surgeon's mask, a green T-shirt, black shorts, and green and black shoes.

"Hurry, block the door so they can't get in!" the green one said breathing heavily.

"Good idea!" the other said.

They quickly started grabbing some chairs and putting them in front of the door. I saw the source of the screaming when I saw a huge crowd of Inklings running in the same path as those girls.

"AAH! HERE THEY COME!" the pink one shrieked.

"Quick! Hide!" the other said. I quickly changed into my squid form and sunk back into my seat to avoid being seen by them. However, I didn't expect them to race over to my booth and sit there...on me! Somehow they didn't notice that I was there as they set menus up on the table to avoid being seen.

"Ugh, e-excuse me," I mumbled while partially suffocating. They still didn't hear me. I struggled from under them and slid over to the other side of the table and changed back. The two screamed when they saw me. But I noticed their hair color when I saw them...black and magenta and white and light green.

"Don't scare us like that!" the green one shouted angrily. "You almost gave heart attacks!"

"Well, sorry," I said sarcastically. "But I prefer not to be sat on..."

"Well, you shouldn't have sat here to begin with."

"I was here first until you two showed up."

"We're really sorry. We were in a bit of a...rush," the pink one said.

"Yeah, no squidding. It's fine, but what was that all about anyway?"

"Those were-" the pink girl was cut off when her friend covered her mouth.

"We don't need to tell him what we were up to, Cal..." she whispered while glaring at me. This girl has just confirmed my suspicions. I decided to have some quick fun with her.

"Actually, y-you know, y-you're right," I said to her. "I have no right to intrude in someone's personal problems. That's rude, and I'm sorry."

She blushed. "Oh...um, i-it's okay. And I'm sorry for yelling."

"It's okay, Marie. "

"No, I-" she and Callie froze in realization. "You knew the whole time, didn't you?"

"Yep," I laughed.

Callie giggled, removed her sunglasses, and sighed. "At least it's just one fan... it's nice to meet you, too. What's your name?"

"I'm Finley. I'm actually new to Inkopolis."

"For real?" they said.

"Yeah."

"In that case, Finley, welcome to Inkopolis," Marie said while removing here mask.

"Thanks. So...er, I know I said that it's rude of me to intrude, but...what happened that caused you two to run from a crowd?"

"Hmmm, you seem pretty nice, so I guess we can tell you."

They told me that they had some time until their next news broadcast so they decided to go out in disguise and get some fresh air. Callie got hungry and wanted go to a restaurant to get a quick meal. Before they got their food, they heard some other people gossiping about them. When a certain mean thing was said about them, they tried to prove them wrong, but in the process, they accidentally blew their cover. Once everyone in the restaurant tried to get a photo or autograph, they quickly ran away.

"And that leads to right now..." I said.

"Pretty much..." Callie said. "I still never got to eat..."

"Also now I'm hungry, too..." Marie whined. "And we don't have any more money on us..."

How two probably rich celebrities not have any money on them, I'll never know. But I wanted to be nice anyway.

"Well, w-we are in a diner, and...i-if you two want, I-I could...um...buy you ladies some food..." I said nervously.

They looked at me surprised.

"Really? Y-you'd do that for...us?" Marie said.

"Uh, s-sure."

"That's so sweet of you!" Callie said happily. "Thank you so much!"

"Yeah, thanks, Finley," Marie said with a sweet smile.

The girls started to order their food.

Never in a million years would I think that I would be paying for a meal for two of the biggest idols in a city...

"Man, I'm not sure if this is fate or just dumb luck," I thought.

Callie looked up at me and her eyes widened. "Whoooa! Marie, look. I just noticed that he has red eyes!"

Oh, boy...

* * *

 _ **AN**_ **: Things are getting interesting. Let's see where this goes. Also, I had a couple of "technical difficulties" while trying to post this chapter, but hopefully I won't have too many. I'm still new at this. Anyway, hope you all liked this. Chapter 4 should be on its way pretty soon.**


	4. Plaza Play

Splatoon: Agent 3 Begins

Chapter 4: Plaza Play

Just so you know: yes, I had some extra money to pay for two extra meals. Although, I didn't know that I would spend it all on just breakfast alone.

While the Squid Sisters were nearing the end of their meals, I noticed that a large crowd was starting to gather at the front door of the diner. Some were clearly paparazzi because of the numerous cameras that some of them had ready.

"We got company..." I said while pointing to the blocked door.

They looked behind them to see the crowd. People in the crowd went wild and screamed as soon as they saw them.

"Oh, no...we're trapped in here!" Callie exclaimed as they ducked down.

"We need to find a way to get out of here," Marie said. "Any ideas, Callie?"

"Hmm...what if we sneak through the air ducts?"

"Gross..."

"Well, it's way better than the sewers!"

While they continued trying to think of ideas, I was trying to think of one myself. How do you try to avoid a group of super-dedicated fans and paparazzi? Suddenly, a thought came to me, and pretty soon I had an idea. It was a bit risky, but it just might work.

"I got an idea," I said. The girls looked at me.

"What is it? What is it?!" they said with anticipation.

"When I give the signal, run," I said as I stood up and walked over to the door. I moved some of the chairs that were blocking it and opened the door enough so people can hear my voice.

"Hey, guys! Look! It's the Squid Squad! They just ran around that corner!" I shouted as I pointed behind them. Somehow, they _actually_ bought it. They quickly looked behind them and ran in that direction. I motioned for Callie and Marie to run out of the diner. They quickly got out of the door, and we took off as fast as we could to avoid being seen. After a while, we hid around a corner and stopped to catch our breath.

"Phew, thanks, Finley," Marie said while panting. "We really owe you one."

"Yeah," Callie agreed. "How can we make it up to you?"

I thought for a moment until I finally thought of something.

"Well...um, for the small amount of time that I've been here," I said nervously. "I haven't seen too much of Inkopolis. So, if you two don't mind me asking...w-would you show me around to see what it's like here?"

The girls looked at each other then smiled gleefully at me.

"We'd love to!" they said happily.

"Let's start at the plaza," Callie suggested. "That's where most of the fresh stuff happens."

"We'll show you some other places along the way," Marie said.

"O-Okay, let's go," I said. And with that the three of us took a walk to the Inkopolis Plaza.

* * *

When we reached the plaza, it was busier than it was yesterday. It seemed like even more Inklings were around.

"Okay, Finley," Callie asked, "where would you like to go first?"

"Hang on," Marie said before I could answer. "Before we show you, where have you been in the plaza already?"

"Well," I said, "so far, I've only been inside of Ammo Knights to find out why so many other Inklings have weapons."

"For Turf Wars...wait...do you know what a Turf War is?"

"Yeah, uh, Sheldon explained to me what those were already and what types of weapons there are. I also know that the Inkopolis Tower is where you go if you want to participate in one. Yet, I've never been in one, though."

" _NEVER?!"_ they both gasped in horror.

I shook my head. "I was planning to do it later today just to see what it's like."

"Oh, yay!" Callie cheered. "Maybe we can be in one together?"

"That'd be great."

"As long as we're on the same team..." Marie said with grin. "Anyway, why don't we start the tour up there." She pointed up to the second floor of the building across from the shops. It had a ramp leading up to a balcony.

"Sure. Why not?" I said.

We walked quickly up to the dojo I saw earlier.

"This is the Battle Dojo," Marie said. "It's where Inklings go if they want to train to get better in Turf Wars or to just have a one-on-one battle."

"Huh. Good to know." We stood outside of the dojo, and after the description, I walked over to the end of the balcony. A room with a large window and brightly colored floors and walls caught my eye. There was television screen and a camera pointing to it from across the room.

"Uh, let me guess," I said with a smirk. "This is your 'office'?"

"Yep," Callie said. "This is the studio where we do our broadcasts."

"Usually when we're done with them, we sit over by that table and chat until we have to go back on air," Marie explained.

"Or if you're Marie, take a nap."

"Or if you're Callie, get a snack."

"Or if you're either one," I added jokingly. "You leave and get chased into a diner by hundreds of fans."

They looked at each other and shrugged. "Eh, fair enough."

We all had a good laugh and walked back down and over to the shopping mall which I remembered was called the Booyah Base.

"Okay," I said, "so I've been to the weapons shop already. Why don't one of you pick a shop?"

"Alright," Marie started. "Hmm...how about...?"

"Shrimp Kicks!" Callie blurted out excitedly while earning an exasperated sigh from her sister.

"S-Sure..." I said. Callie hurriedly pulled me into the shoe shop with a heavily sighing Marie following closely. "Uh...M-Marie, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just know what's about to happen in a few seconds..."

"What's gonna happen?"

As soon as Callie set foot into Shrimp Kicks, she took off toward the shelves stocked with shoe boxes. She quickly took as many as she could carry in her arms ( _and_ hair tentacles) and began trying several on. Marie looked at me with an embarrased chuckle and gestured toward her "preoccupied" sibling.

"Ohhh, that's what's gonna happen..." I said with an understanding nod.

"She does this every time we go shopping...and any time we're near a shoe store..." Marie said shaking her head.

"Hey, squiddos," a voice greeted. I looked over at the counter and saw a tall tiger prawn in a furry jacket and a purple hat wave a claw at us. He wore four different pairs of shoes on his eight legs, but he was only standing on one pair.

"Hey, Crusty Sean," Marie said waving back. Crusty Sean looked at Callie and slightly jumped in surprise.

"Don't tell me she's gonna clean my shelves again..." he said pointing to her.

"We're not staying too long or buying anything. We're just showing our friend Finley around the plaza. He's new in Inkopolis. Finley, this is Crusty Sean, the owner of the shop."

"Nice to meet ya, squiddo," he said while offering a handshake. As I shook it, he looked me over. "Hmm...ya know, ya seem fresh enough to me. See anything ya like? Take your pick before they're gone."

"Sorry, I'm a little low on cash right now," I said. "I might come back later though."

"Alright. Sounds good. Come back anytime ya want some new kicks."

"I will. Thanks." I turned to leave the shop. Marie had gone over to put the shoes back on the shelves.

"Callie, we gotta go now," she said. "We still have to finish the tour. You don't wanna be rude, do you?"

"Aww," Callie groaned. "No, b-but-"

"Come on. Let's go."

"Fine..." She quickly put her shoes on and put the other shoes back on the shelves. We all left Shrimp Kicks and went into the shop next door. It looked like a clothing shop.

"This is Jelly Fresh. The clothing shop," Callie said. After she said that, her attention quickly went toward some shirts hanging up. "Ooh, that'll look cute on me."

"Callie, we can go shopping later," Marie said. "But not today..."

"Please to the shopping," a short blue jellyfish at the counter said. He had on a purple, black, and white cap and a black and dark blue scarf. He also had a black T-shirt.

"Hiya, Jelonzo!" Callie said happily. the jellyfish

"Huuuuh?! Why sisters here?! You are already having mush freshness!"

Marie giggled. "Thanks, but we're not here to buy anything. This is Finley. He's new in town and we're just showing him around the plaza."

Jelonzo came around the counter and looked me over. After looking at all of my clothes, he looked at my face.

"Seeming fresh to me. Except eyes needing no red contacts. Needing to be blue instead. But shopping here anytime is nice."

"Uh, o-okay..." I said confused. "Thanks...?"

"We'll be going now. See ya," Callie said as we left the shop.

"Be seeing soon!"

As we left, I was still trying to wrap my head around what just happened.

"He seemed nice..." I said uneasily. "But...is that really how he talks?"

"Yeah," Callie said. "He's the only jellyfish that can speak our language. All the others around here can't."

"Oh, okay, but what's with the whole contacts thing?"

"He's really fashionable, and he likes to give some tips on how to look fresh," Marie said. "He likes what you're wearing, but you should have on blue contacts instead of red."

"Maybe you can find some in Cooler Heads?" Callie suggested. Instead of telling them that I wasn't wearing contacts, I decided to just drop the conversation as we entered the hat shop.

When we went in, I saw a short anemone girl assorting hats on a shelf. She had pink hair with green at the tips, black glasses, a set of purple headphones aroung her neck, a green jacket, orange tights, and black boots. She looked cute but also extremely timid.

"Hi, Annie!" Callie said happily. Annie jumped and looked at us nervously.

"O-Oh, h-hi Callie, Marie, and um... m-mister Inkling..." she said nervously. I waved.

"Annie, this is Finley," Marie said. "Finley, this is Annie, one of the owners.'

"Nice to meet you," I said with a nod. She nodded as well.

"He's new in the city. We're showing him around," Callie explained. I suddenly noticed that she was wearing six different hats on her head at once. I didn't bother asking...but Marie told her to put them back.

"OH, GREAT! ANOTHER LOSER!" a loud voice yelled.

"W-Who said that?" I said nervously as I looked around.

The girls groaned in frustration. "Moe..."

"H-He's the o-other owner," Annie explained quietly. "He l-lives in m-my hair..."

A small clownfish poked his head out of her hair obviously annoyed. "YA STILL HERE?! WELL BUY SOMETHIN' OR GET LOST, NERD!"

"We weren't gonna buy anything," Callie said while rolling her eyes. "And he's not a nerd, Moe!"

"Or a loser!" Marie added.

"Oh, sorry, you're right. He's not just those; HE'S ALSO A FREAK WITH RED CONTACTS WHICH LOOK STUPID ON HIM!"

"I still look better than you, dude," I said with grin.

"Aw, snap!" Callie said while laughing.

"Nice!" Marie applauded. Moe became so angry that he threw a silent tantrum.

"Well, uh, Finley, y-you look f-fresh enough to c-come anytime...um, i-if you want?" Annie said.

"Thank you, Annie," I said. "But I might come back some time later."

"We'd better go if we want to finish the plaza tour," Marie said. "See ya, Annie." We all turned to leave.

"It's a good thing you made friends with the two freshest squids in the city," Moe said.

"Uh, wow, thanks, Moe..." Callie said.

"TOO BAD THEY'RE ALSO THE UGLIEST AND YOU'LL HAVE TO SEE THEM EVERYDAY!"

Callie stopped at the door and growled in anger.

"THAT'S IT!" she yelled as she turned and started to move toward Annie and Moe. Fearing for everyone safety (except Moe's), I quickly grabbed Callie's arms and dragged her out of the shop while she and the loud fish continued yelling threats. Annie stood quietly and nervously mouthed "I'm sorry" several times. Once we reached the outside of Cooler Heads, she sat down on a nearby bench. But she was clearly still angry.

"I'm really starting to hate that little clownfish..." Callie said once she calmed down.

"Forget him...either he hasn't seen a mirror recently or he needs to get glasses," I said with a chuckle.

"I don't think glasses would fit him. His eyes are weird."

"I don't think he'll need them anyway," Marie said coming from behind us. "Currently he has two black eyes, so he can't see for a while."

"When did he get-" I then saw her look at her hand and brush a few orange scales off of her palm. I stared at her. "Umm, n-never mind..."

Note to self: don't mess with Marie, or I will suffer greatly...

* * *

 _ **AN**_ **: Sorry this took a while to come up, I'm prone to procrastinating. Hope you liked this chapter. Chapter 5 is coming soon.**


	5. First Battle

Splatoon: Agent 3 Begins

Chapter 5: First Battle

After showing me a few more places around the plaza, the Squid Sisters led me to the front of the Inkopolis Tower.

"So if I want to play in a Turf War," I said, "this is the place to go, right?"

They nodded.

"You know, I'm curious. When the battle's over, who declares the winner? You two?"

Callie laughed. "No way! That's Judd's job."

"Who's Judd?"

She pointed to a cat that was sleeping on a pillow on a trash bin. He looked like he was wearing a nice little tuxedo, but I realized that it was actually his natural fur pattern.

"That's Judd. Somehow, he can see who covered an area in ink more just by looking at the area for a few seconds. It's amazing!"

"We still don't know how he can do it," Marie said.

"Is he always asleep otherwise?" I asked.

"Yeah, like, all day. He's super lazy, but he's more active at night."

Judd let out a good yawn and looked up. He saw me and let out a tired "meow" then went back to sleep.

"Anyway, Fin...er, can we call you 'Fin'?"

"Sure. That's what my friends call me."

"Great," she paused and looked at me. "You consider us your friends?"

"Of course. What else would I consider you two?"

"We don't know. Unsuspecting celebrities that can make you rich, famous, popular, or something?" Callie said sadly.

"Did someone do that to you before?" I asked. They looked down to the ground and nodded slowly. "That's...that's horrible. They became friends with you just to get rich and popular? That makes me sick. You'll never see ME doing that."

Marie started to get mad. "That's what they said when we asked if they were doing that. Later on, they left us and enjoyed the attention. And as far as we know, it may happen again..."

"Well, if we meet someone who starts to do that, then they'll have to deal with me. I'd honestly never do that." They looked at me skeptically.

"Never...?" they said.

"Cross all three of my hearts and hope to die." I made crosses over where my hearts were. Their spirits lifted up a bit, and their expressions soften. Marie looked around the plaza.

"Well, I think that's it for the plaza tour," she said.

"Wait, Marie, what about Spyke?" Callie asked.

"Actually, I don't think he's in his normal spot today..."

"We'll have to introduce you to him later, Fin. Sorry."

"It's okay," I said even though I had no idea who they were talking about.

"So," she continued. "Now that we're done with the plaza tour, are you gonna play in a Turf War now?"

"I was thinking about it. Why do you ask?"

"Can I join you?" she asked with a big hopeful smile. I didn't expect that. I was actually planning to ask _them_.

"Well, I-I...um, s-sure..." I said nervously. Marie looked at her with a curious expression. "Y-You wanna join too, Marie?"

"Actually, I think neither of us can join you right now," she said.

"W-What...?"

"Why not?!" Callie said surprised. "Don't you wanna give him some help getting through it?"

"I would," she explained. "But A) I don't have a weapon and neither do you, and B) if this is his first, he'll likely get partnered with other new players and play against those who've been a few more battles than he has. That way, he'll get a taste of what harder battles are like."

"Well, I suppose you have a point...sorta" Callie said sadly. "I guess you're on your own, Finley..."

"Oh...that's just...great..." I said nervously. My first Turf War was about to begin, and I was essentially going alone. My uneasy feeling came to me again. Marie probably could tell because she put her hand on my shoulder and gave me a comforting smile.

"Don't be nervous, Finley," she said. "It may be you're first Turf War, but it'll be fine. This might be several other Inklings' first one, too."

"Yeah," Callie agreed happily. "Besides, the first Turf War is always unforgettable. We'll be rooting for you, too."

"Really?" I asked. They nodded with assurance. "Well, okay. But what if I lose, though?"

"You'll never know if you'll win or not if you're just standing here," Marie said. "Also, it doesn't matter if you win or lose. All that matters is that you have fun."

"Winning would be nice though..." Callie stopped when Marie looked at her with a stern expression. "B-But yeah it's all fun in the end!"

They might've be right. I might be worried about nothing. So I pushed down my anxiety.

"Alright, I'll go." The three of us walked up to the entrance door. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck," they said as I walked in.

Luckily for me, there was already a group of seven Inklings waiting for another player in the lobby. I got my Splattershot Jr. and my Ink Tank and got them ready as fast as I could. I went to the group.

"Um...h-hello...?" I said quietly. An Inkling girl holding a Charger somehow heard me.

"Hey, guys! We got another player!" she told the others.

"Finally!" the others cheered. I saw that the entire group was lined up side by side. One last spot was open, and I took it. As soon as I stood in the line, a button came up in front of each of us reading "Ready?" I pushed it; and the next thing I knew, I was at some sort of port. (I had no idea how we got there...)

"Alright!" one boy with a Roller cheered. "Port Mackerel. I dominate this stage."

"Isn't this is your third battle...?" a girl with Roller said. My team consisted of two boys (me and the Roller guy) and two girls (the Roller girl and the Charger girl), and we seemed pretty well-balanced. We all had the same dark blue ink color. The opposing team was a bright orange color.

"READY?" an announcing voice said. "GO!"

This was it. My first Turf War.

* * *

My team and I rushed from our Respawn Point and covered the ground in as much ink as we could. I navigated around giant cargo crates and forklifts while shooting ink from my Splattershot Jr.. However, things got a bit hectic once both teams came to the middle of the stage. All the other members of my team got splatted at least once, but somehow, I survived for the entire match. Blue and orange ink flew everywhere. Eventually, the battle was over; and somehow, we ended up back at Inkopolis tower.

Judd came from behind all of us and stared at a big screen giving an overhead view of Port Mackerel. He held two flags with the teams ink colors.

"Oh, I hope we won..." someone from the other team said.

"You and me both..." I thought.

Judd then turned around, put his hands behind his back, and quickly held up the blue flag and pointed to my team. We won.

My team celebrated.

"Awesome! We did it!" the Roller boy cheered.

"That was amazing!" the Charger girl cheered. "But, wait, how? Didn't we all get splatted?"

"Check it out, guys!" the Roller girl said pointing to the results screen. "That boy with the Splattershot Jr. didn't get splatted at all!"

"Whoooa!" the others said.

"He even got the most points. Where is he?!"

I waved nervously. "R-Right here..."

"Dude, that was epic!" the boy said. "Are you a pro or something?"

"N-No...I, uh, well, this is actually my... first battle..."

"Your FIRST?!" all of them yelled in surprise.

Judd came up to us holding four big bags of coins. He gave the largest one to me.

"Mrow, ahem, here's your reward. Congratulations, Fin," he said. That caught me off guard because I didn't know he could talk or that he knew my name. I guess he must've heard it while I was outside.

"WHAT?! NO WAY!" a female voice from the other team said angrily. "I LOST TO SOME SCRUB AND HIS TEAM?! Where is he?! I'll splat him myself!"

"Uh-oh," my team said nervously.

"And that's my cue to leave..." I said while quickly leaving with my stuff. "I'll come back later when nobody is trying to splat me."

"Good idea," the Charger said. "Oh, and you might wanna keep your head down so they don't see your eyes."

I nodded and quickly wave goodbye to the team as I walked away from the lobby.

"You saw his eyes, too?" I heard the Roller girl say. "Ugh, they looked so creepy."

"They looked weird, but in a cool sorta way..." the boy said.

"I dunno, guys" the Charger girl said. "I thought they looked kinda cute..."

That last comment made me trip up. I felt my face warm up. I put my hood over my head and quickly left the tower.

I ran down the ramp leading to the plaza and went behind Judd's trash bin. I sat down, removed my hood, and sighed.

"Callie was right. My first Turf War was unforgettable..."

While I was trying to lay low, a manhole grate in front of me shook for a second before someone looked out from under it and quickly went back down.

"Well, that was weird..." I thought. "I wonder who that was..."

I crawled over to the manhole and opened it slightly to look inside. It was pitch black and empty, but I just knew that someone was down there. Against my better judgement, I opened the manhole entirely and looked deeper into the dark abyss.

"Hello...?" I called out. "I-Is someone down here?" No one responded except my echo.

I closed the manhole and decided to find the Squid Sisters.

"FIN! Up here!" I heard Callie call. I looked up at the top of the balcony to see her and Marie waving. I quickly ran up to see them. However, once I got up there, Callie knocked me to the ground with a tight hug. I could also feel her hair tentacles wrap around me, which made it feel event tighter. She squeezed all the air out of me.

"YOU DID IT! YOU DID IT! YOU WON!" she squealed repeatedly. She looked so overjoyed...even though her hug was making me lightheaded.

"C-Callie, please let go..." I struggled to say as my voice got progressively higher. "I c-can't breathe..."

"OH!" she said as we got up. "I'm so, so sorry!"

"It's okay. I'm fine." I didn't realize that my voice was still pretty high, and I covered my mouth quickly. My face felt like I was facing a bonfire.

Marie snickered. "Are you sure?! You look pretty...purple. Are you trying a new hair color?"

"N-No, I'm still cyan...that's my look..."

The girls looked at each other and started giggling uncontrollably.

"W-What?"

"You were cyan before I hugged you..." Callie said teasingly. "Now you're light purple..."

I looked at my reflection in the studio window. They were right...

I shook my head trying to turn cyan again.

"Hang on," Marie said. "Let me try something..."

She surprised me with a small hug. I saw myself turn a deep red/purple color.

They began to laugh. But I was doing my best not to look in their direction.

"That's not funny, you two..." I said annoyed.

"Oh, come on. It's cute..." Callie reassured.

If that was a way for her to make me feel better, it did NOT work...

* * *

 ** _AN : _Another chapter done. The next one should pick up a little bit.**

 **Also, little explanation for that last scene: Anytime Finley gets embarrassed, flustered, or even comes into contact with a cute girl, his voice gets higher and he'll blush so much, his hair tentacles will start turning a mix of red and his current hair color. Now we know what he thinks of Callie and Marie...**

 **Anyway, hope you liked this chapter. Chapter 6 is coming up.**


	6. Amateur to Agent After an Apology

Splatoon: Agent 3 Begins

Chapter 6: Amateur to Agent After an Apology

After that moment of utter embarrassment, Callie, Marie, and I talked about my first battle.

"How was it, Fin?" Callie asked while still smiling widely. "Fun, wasn't it?"

I looked at her with my most unconvincing fearful face. "It was scary, nerve-racking, and messy beyond belief...but it was so much fun!"

"See?! I told you! Are you gonna do it again?"

"Uh...not yet..."

"Why not?" Marie asked.

"Because I think someone is out looking for the 'scrub' who beat her..."

"Let me guess. You played against someone who takes Turf Wars a bit too seriously?"

"Uh, yeah! And she sounded pretty mad that she lost."

"What did she look like?"

I shrugged. "No clue. But I just got an idea. I'll hide up here and watch for the angriest-looking Inkling girl."

Literally, as soon as I said that, a yellow-haired girl with holding a huge Roller came out of the tower looking upset. She sat down on a bench beneath us.

"Ugh, I can't believe that some newbie squid broke my win streak..." she said angrily. At least one of my hearts sank when I heard that.

"That must be her..." I said softly. "If that's why she's upset, I actually feel kinda bad."

"What are you gonna do?" Callie asked. "Hide for the rest of your life?"

"No, Callie. I'm gonna make things right." I turned to go down the ramp. "Okay, here I go. Just gonna go down there and straighten this out."

A little while passed, but I was frozen mid-walk...

"So...are you gonna go?" Marie said eventually. "Or are you just gonna stand there trembling like a frightened sea snail?"

I was still hesitating. My body would not let me go down. "Alright. If I go down there and things go south, you two have my back, right?"

"We'll be right behind you."

I took a deep breath and tried to walk forward. I started to move slowly.

"Okay, now I'm getting impatient," Marie said with an annoyed tone. "Just go already."

She promptly began pushing me down the ramp and toward the girl while Callie came along beside us. Marie placed me in front of the girl, and they both quickly stood back. I looked back at her and mouthed "Really?" The white-haired Inkling pointed to the girl with a stern expression. I looked at her and cleared my throat to get her attention. She looked up; but before she did, I quickly put my hood over my eyes. (Can't be too careful...)

"Uh, h-hi, um..." I stuttered. "A-Are you okay?"

"No," she said. "I'm mad because someone ruined my winning streak. I worked hard to keep from losing any battles yet."

"O-Oh. Um, how many battles have you won?"

"So far, fifteen. My personal record. I've never lost one until today."

"Fifteen? Nice. That's way more than I've one."

"How many have you won?"

"One. I just finished my first battle ever."

"Your first? You must be new here." She quickly got up and started to look at me suspiciously. "What stage did you battle in?"

"P-Port Mackerel..." I said nervously. I knew she was onto me as I tried to keep my eyes covered.

"Hmm. What a coincidence. That was also the stage I played when my streak broke..."

"Yeah, well...I guess you just can't win them all. Er, w-what did this guy look like?"

"Hmm...he had a cyan hoodie, black and blue High-Horses, round glasses, and really, really, _REALLY_ creepy red eyes."

"Their not _that_ creepy." I didn't realize that I said that out loud. The girl quickly removed my hood and saw my eyes before I closed them.

"I _knew_ I'd find you somewhere!" she yelled as she punched my arm. "I'd never forget those red eyes!"

"Oww. L-Look, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't know that you're winning streak was at stake."

"'Sorry' isn't gonna fix it!"

"Well, then, how about a more sincere apology and an explanation?" I really hoped that she'd take it. She folded her arms.

"Fine. I'm waiting..."

"I'm truly sorry that I ruined your streak. Like I said, it was my first battle. I honestly wasn't even trying to win. I wouldn't have cared if I lost either. I was just trying it out to see what it was like. For the most part, I just got lucky with a win."

The girl's expression softened. "Do you really mean that?"

"Of course. Besides, Turf Wars are played for fun, right? The good things that come out of them if you win are just bonuses."

"I...suppose you're right..."

"So...am I forgiven?"

"I guess so...for now. But, if we're against each other, you'll be my first target. So watch your back..." She grinned, grabbed her Roller, and began to leave. "Hold up, I'd like to know the name of my new rival. What is it?"

"Finley. What's yours?" (And what did she mean by 'new rival'...?)

"Amelia. You can just call me Amy. I gotta go. I apparently have a record to break..." She quickly left.

I stood there completely dumbfounded. I was brought back to reality when Callie began to speak.

"Okay," she said slowly. "I'm stumped. What just happened?!"

"I think I just made my first 'friendly' rival...by accident..." I said. "I honestly didn't see that coming..."

"She must be sharp if she recognized you by your eyes. Maybe you _should_ get different colored contacts."

"Okay, you know what? I'm just gonna spit this out so you two can understand this: I'M NOT WEARING RED CONTACTS!"

They were speechless as they slowly looked at each other then back at me with surprise.

"What's wrong?"

"We always just assumed that they were contacts..." Callie said still astonished. "I've seen Inklings with pink eyes before but not red."

"I think one of my ancestors had them, and they got passed on to me. But neither one of my parents nor my siblings have them for some reason. I guess I was the only one who got that gene."

Our conversation got cut short when Marie's cellphone buzzed. She looked at a text message she received and groaned.

"Well, it looks like we gotta go back to the studio," she said. "We have a 'special' announcement to give out...again..."

"Awww, Turf Wars are shut down again?" Callie groaned. Her sister nodded. "Alright...we'll be right back in second, Fin..."

"Wait. What do you mean that Turf Wars are shut down again?"

"You'll see. Just watch the jumbo screen."

They left for the studio. In about twenty minutes, the big screen over their studio came on airing the Inkopolis News.

"Hold on to your tentacles, it's Inkopolis News time!" Callie said slightly less excited than normal.

"We regret to tell you guys this, but Turf Wars are being shut down for the day due to a power outage," Marie said.

"How long have these been happening? A few days?"

"It feels like it's been a few weeks. And it's all because the Great Zapfish went missing..."

"Do you think it has something to do with that U.F.O. people claimed to see?"

"Who knows? Maybe someone's working on bringing it back."

"I hope so." Suddenly, Callie gasped and smiled from ear to ear clearly thinking about something. "Well, that's the announcement. But until next time folks..."

"Staaaay Fresh!" they said while giving their signature pose.

"Shut down due to power outage?" I said to myself. Once the news was over, almost every Inkling in the plaza started to complain about Turfs Wars being shut down. Marie came back down as more began to leave the plaza.

"Now I understand. The giant 100-year-old electric catfish that gives the city its electricity has gone missing; and without it, the city is starting to lose more power."

Marie raised an eyebrow at me curiously. "You know what, Fin? You surprise me with what you know and don't know about this city. You knew what the Great Zapfish is?"

"Yep."

"Wow. I guess you're not _totally_ clueless..."

"Um, thanks?"

"You're welcome."

Soon, Callie came rushing toward us while still adjusting her disguise.

"Okay, Fin, so now you understand?"

"I completely understand, and it sounds pretty bad. Is anyone working on bringing it back?"

"Umm, well, sorta...we heard about some people trying to locate it..."

"I wonder if there's anything I could do to help..."

Callie squealed happily and began jumping excitedly. "I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! I just knew you'd say that!"

Marie looked at her completely confused. "Callie, what are you-"

Callie pulled her over and whispered in her ear. They both turned their backs to me and began having a quiet conversation. Occasionally, they would look back at me briefly and go back to talking. Eventually, they turned back to me with eager sharp-fanged grins.

"Alright. I give up," I said. "What are you two planning?"

"Follow us," Callie said as they took off. I followed them to the manhole grate I saw earlier. They gestured for me to go into it. (Fun fact: I can pass through grates and fences in squid form.) I changed into my squid form and slid over to the manhole grate.

"WAIT! WHAT AM I DOING?! You've got to be squidding me," I said. "I'm not going down in a sewer!"

"But...I thought you wanted to help..." Callie said sounding disappointed.

"I do, but...but..." I sighed. "Really? Down here?"

"Don't worry. We're going down there with you. There's someone that we'd like you to meet."

"O-Okay..."

I slid over slowly toward the grate and prepared to dive in. However, before I went in, I felt a gentle nudge push me on top of the grate, and I slipped into it.

"Hey! Who did thaaAAAAAAHHH!" I yelled as I fell in. I found myself falling for a few seconds until the unexpected happened. I started to...turn. Suddenly, I realized that I was in some sort of tube which was sending me somewhere. I then found myself launching upward out of another grate. While airborne for a few seconds, I saw that I was in some kind of valley surrounded by large rock formations. One notable formation looked like a giant octopus. I transformed back into human form and landed feet first onto solid ground. "Wow, I honestly can't believe I landed that. Nice."

Suddenly, something slammed me to the ground...and those somethings were the Squid Sisters who ended up sitting on my back as if I were a couch.

"You know, Marie?" Callie said. "That landing didn't hurt as badly as I thought it would."

"I know, right?" Marie agreed. "Uh, but where's Finley?"

"Stand up, and you might find out..." I said loudly through my teeth. They quickly got up and helped me to my feet. "Is this gonna be a normal thing with you two?"

"The first time we did that was an accident," Marie said.

"Whatever. Never mind. Now who did want me to meet?"

"Avast! Who goes there?" an elderly male voice asked. I then saw an old white-bearded man with a tattered shirt and a blue sea captain's hat walk toward us while supporting himself slightly with a bamboo cane.

"Hi, gramps!" the girls said as they went over to hug him.

"Oh ho ho! Sink me! What brings me grandsquids here?" he asked as he hugged them back.

"We have a possible new recruit!" Callie said excitedly while pulling me over. "He wants to help find the zapfish, too."

"Really?" The man began to look me over. "So, lad, ye want to help out?"

"Absolutely, sir," I said. "I'd like to help in anyway I can."

"Hmm, ya know, bucko? I like that look in yer eyes. Maybe ye can help."

"I'd be happy to."

"Well, that be terrific! Ye can begin right away. What's yer name, lad?"

"Finley Splatterson, sir. But everyone calls me Fin."

"Well, pleasure to meet ya, Fin," the man said while shaking my hand. "I be Cap'n Cuttlefish."

"Cuttlefish? As in one of the Inkling soldiers who fought in the Great Turf War?"

"Ah, so ye heard of me. Good to know someone knows their history..." he looked back at his granddaughters who looked away embarrassed. "Anyway, I'll be right back."

He went into a little nearby shack. Callie and Marie came over to me.

"Wow, I didn't know that you knew what the Great Turf War was," Callie said. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I kinda thought you were a bit...um..."

"Clueless?" I said. She nodded nervously. "It's okay. Marie thought that, too. You should've seen her when she found out that I knew what the Great Zapfish was."

"Hey!" Marie said defensively. "You just surprised me that's all."

The Cap'n came back holding several things: a black jacket with a yellow safety vest and a large collar, some black and light green sneakers, and a black Headset with blue lights. He also had a matching black and light green Shooter weapon with small blue lights and an ink tank to go with it.

"Put these on, bucko," he said handing them to me. I went into the shack to change...but the others were still watching.

"Um, a little privacy, please?" I said. They all apologized and faced away from me. I changed into the new clothes and strapped on the Shooter and ink tank. "Okay, I'm done." Surprisingly, everything fit me perfectly.

They turned around, and when they saw me, all of their faces lit up.

"Now ye look like an agent," the Cap'n said joyfully.

"Thanks."

"Now, bucko, I'd like to officially welcome ya to the New Squidbeak Splatoon. From now on, yer new codename is 'Agent 3'."

"Awesome. Wait, 'Agent 3'? Then who are Agents 1 and 2?"

Callie and Marie came to me and shook both of my hands.

"Pleasure to meet you, Agent 3!" Callie said. "I'm Agent 1."

"And I'm Agent 2," Marie said. "We'll be helping you out as much as we can."

"Why didn't I see that coming?" I asked. They shrugged. (Seriously, how many jobs do these two have?)

"Well, now that the team is acquainted, it's time to get to business," the Cap'n said. "Agent 3's first mission begins now."

He led me to an empty space and pointed to it. I looked at it in confusion.

"Don't just stand there, bucko. Shoot in this area."

"Uh, okay..." I began shooting it until I started hearing metallic clanging. "What the...?"

Eventually, a big object that looked like a big silver tea kettle appeared. The top of the kettle had another grate.

"Let me guess. I gotta go down in there?" I asked.

"I'll explain what ye will be doing down there once you're through," the Cap'n said.

I stood on top of the grate. "Okay, wish me luck, Agents 1 and 2."

"Good luck!" they said. I dove into the kettle grate in squid form.

Seriously, what have I gotten myself into?!

* * *

 _ **AN**_ **: So Finley's adventure is just beginning. You'll see how his first missions go in the next chapter which will come out soon. Also, yes, I know in the game Agents 1 and 2 don't reveal their identities until waaaay later, but I switched it up a little.**

 **And now here's a bio on Amelia. (I started thinking that this story might need a few more characters besides the main ones.)**

 **Hair color : Yellow**

 **Eye color : Blue**

 **Skin color : Lightly tanned**

 **Age:** **15**

 **Physical** **description** **: Basically like any other Inkling girl. She usually wears the standard yellow t-shirt, white shoes, and headband that your character wears at the very beginning of the game.**

 **Personality : Ambitious, persistent, determined, but tends to get hotheaded and easily angered if she doesn't get her way. She can have a bit of an attitude but can be nice when she wants to be. She is fairly good at Turf Wars and (before Finley arrived) won every one that she's been in with her favorite weapon type: the Roller. She came to the city a few weeks before the story begins. Although originally mad that Finley won a battle against her, she immediately gained respect for him when she realized that it was his first battle and because he didn't brag about it like most other Inkling boys would. She still views him as a potentially challenging opponent/rival. However, Finley mainly sees her as someone who plays Turf Wars with a lot of passion and as a more friendly rival than a mean one. Needless to say, the two are on good terms.**


	7. First Time in the Field

Splatoon: Agent 3 Begins

Chapter 7: First Time in the Field

After a minute of free-falling, I found myself landing feet-first into a shallow pool of lime green ink. I also noticed that my hair tentacles was the same color. Usually, in a Turf War, I was able to choose what color they were, but this time, I guess I didn't have a choice. I looked around and saw that I was standing on top of a building of some kind. Above me were several bright lights and screens showing a sky, and together, they gave the impression that the area was outdoors. I was beginning to get nervous.

"Nice going, genius," I said to myself. "You just jumped down into some kind of underground city or something without asking why first?"

"Oops," I heard the Cap'n say in my Headset. "Did I forget to mention that?"

"Uh, yes. So, I'll ask: what am I doing here and why?"

"Would ye like the shorter version or the whole story?"

"Um, shorter version, please?"

"Okay, bucko, listen closely. Ye remember who the Inklings fought in the Great Turf War?"

"Oh, yeah. Those octopus people. The, uh, Octa-somethings..."

"Octarians."

"Yeah, those. I've read about them in a book about the Great Turf War. They would've won the war if someone hadn't accidentally unplugged one of their super weapons. At least, I think that's how it went..."

"Oh ho ho! Somebody's done his history research. But anyway, those Octo-jerks are the cause of this missing zapfish crisis. I'm afraid that they've stolen it."

"No way."

"And now it's up to us to find it and bring it back. And by us, I mean ye and the other agents."

"Fantastic...so where am I and what am I doing here?"

"Right now, we're in Octo Valley, their home turf. Ye're in one of their bases, and ye're gonna search for the zapfish in it. Once ye find it, make yer way back here where I am. But keep an eye out for Octarians. They're not gonna just hand it over to ya so easily."

I began walking forward from the ink pool. "Where did land anyway?"

"It's a landing point, bucko. That reminds me. There are checkpoints that I set up in these bases that act like respawn points, but they have limited power. If ye get splatted twice, ye will be sent back to the last one ye went past."

"What happens if I get splatted a third time?"

"Ye'll be sent back to the fully powered one I have back here. So be careful."

"Great..." I sprayed ink on the floor and swam toward a swirling puddle of green ink. However, once I touched it I squid-jumped (involuntarily) toward another rooftop.

"Swirling ink equals squid-jump to next section. Good to know," I thought in mid-air. I landed on a roof with some wooden boxes and saw that most of the ground was covered in dark fuchsia ink. "This is a bad sign..."

As I walked toward the ink to observe it, a large blob of the fuchsia ink floated slowly over my head and popped behind me leaving a mess on the ground. I turned and saw the source of the shot: an Octarian. Those guys look weird. Most of them looked like severed octopus tentacles with big green eyes, a mouth and two stubby legs. The one that fired at me was standing on some kind of hovering vehicle getting ready to fire again. I sprayed an ink trail past it and swam behind it. It somehow didn't notice that I was behind. I stood out of the ink and shot it with ink until it burst.

"Yes!" I cheered.

"Nice shootin', bucko," Cuttlefish said. "But don't rest yet, there's still more around."

He was right. As soon as I turned around, three more Octarians shot at me. However, the shots seemed to move in slow motion, so I simply swam in my ink and sprayed it on the ground when I needed to keep moving. I got behind them all and splatted them quickly. Once I finished, another swirling ink launchpad appeared. I swam to it and launched over to what I assumed was a checkpoint on another rooftop. As soon as I landed, more Octarians appeared. I splatted them, and another launchpad appeared.

"I'm sensing a pattern here..." I said as I launched over to another rooftop. "By the way, where would the zapfish be? I haven't found it yet."

"Be on the lookout for a big lightbulb-shaped object with a yellow fish in it," Cuttlefish explained. "Once ye find it, shoot the 'bulb' with yer ink and grab the fish."

"So, you don't know...?"

"Uh...nope, sorry..."

I sighed. "I'll keep an eye out..."

After splatting over 20 more Octarians, I finally saw a yellow light on top of a tall structure. I squid jumped on top of the structure and faced the lightbulb-shaped thing that Cap'n Cuttlefish told me about. Inside of it was a small yellow fish with a big orange mouth and glowing yellow whiskers.

"Zapfish, ahoy!"

I got up to it and tried to grab the fish. However, the bulb that surrounded the zapfish was some kind of electric container that was powered by the zapfish's whiskers...and I quickly got electrocuted as soon as my hand hit the container. And It was NOT a good feeling.

"Ow," I groaned. "That really hurt..."

"And that's why I told ye to shoot the thing first before ye grab the fish," Cuttlefish said.

I promptly did, and the container dispersed. I grabbed the zapfish and squid-jumped as fast as I could back to the starting point. The fish wiggled under my arm happily.

"Okay, I got it," I said. "So how do I get out of here?"

"Swim down in the pool at that starting point, and you'll find a pipe."

I swam down into the ink pool with the zapfish and found the pipe. I felt myself get sucked into it, and the next thing I knew, I came up out of the kettle. I also noticed that the sun was starting to set.

"Oh ho ho!" Cuttlefish chuckled as he greeted me. "Ye did it! Mission accomplished."

"That was...um, interesting," I said handing him the zapfish. "Although, it did seem like a lot to go through just to save a little fish. I thought the Great Zapfish would be bigger than this."

"Actually, bucko, this is a younger zapfish. We use these for the city's reserve power in case something's wrong with the big one...or it goes missing." He went over to a ledge by his shack and tossed the small zapfish over into a giant fishbowl with several others swimming inside of it. They all seemed pretty happy see their friend again. The one that I saved came back to the surface of the water and shot water out of its mouth into my face.

"Hey! What was that for?" I said while wiping it off.

"That might be its way of saying 'thank you'," Cuttlefish said. The same one splashed me with water again.

"Well, you're welcome, little guy." I wiped off the water from my face and glasses.

The zapfish made a gurgling sound and back-flipped back down into the water.

"Well, bucko, that should be it for yer test today."

"Test? What test?"

"If ye succeeded in rescuing the zapfish, ye would officially be a part of the New Squidbeak Splatoon. But if ye run away or give up, ye wouldn't."

"So I passed?"

"Aye, lad. Ye passed."

"Sweet!" I stopped and looked around for Callie and Marie. "Um, where are Agents 1 and 2?"

"They wanted me to tell ye to meet them at the plaza once yer done with yer mission."

"Okay." I turned to leave but stopped in my tracks. "Should I take off the Agent 3 suit?"

"That'd be a good idea. Ye don't want to look suspicious."

I quickly changed back into my normal clothes, put my agent clothes into my backpack, and got ready to leave.

"Come back tomorrow, bucko," Cuttlefish said. "We have more zapfish to find."

"Yes, sir." I dove into the grate that led back to Inkopolis. Once I came out of it, Judd got startled and fell off of his sleeping spot. "Oh, sorry if I scared you, Judd. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Nothing broken," he yawned while getting back up on the garbage bin. As soon as he did, he went right back to sleep.

"Wow, that is one sleepy cat..." I said quietly. I walked out trying to find the Squid Sisters. While going near an alley way, I heard someone.

"Hey, who're you lookin' for, mate?" the voice asked in a low tone. I looked down the alley and saw a lanky sea urchin with a spiky afro and a poncho sitting on a rug while surrounded by blue sea snails and empty shells. (I didn't want to know if the shells had snails in them before, but I could've sworn that I saw a small screwdriver near him...)

"Uh, I-I'm looking for two friends of mine..." I said uneasily. "I was supposed to meet them in the plaza..."

The urchin looked at me curiously. "Huh. If you have red eyes, I'd help you out, love."

"I do have red eyes."

"You're not joking, are you, mate?"

As much as I didn't want to get closer to him, I forced myself to walk over to him so he could see me clearly. He smiled, pulled out a small cellphone, and called someone.

"'Ello, love. Your friend's out here with me. You want me to have him stay put? No? Right. He'll be there. Cheers, love." He hung up.

"What was that all about?" I asked.

"The sisters want you to come into their studio. Just go through that door next to you there."

On my left was a door leading to the studio building. "Oh, okay. Thanks...uh, sorry, what's your name?"

"Name's Spyke. Been a pleasure to meet you, mate."

"Likewise." I went inside of the building and went up some stairs. If I was right, their studio should've been up there. I was lucky when I came across a room that was clearly labeled "Inkopolis Newsroom." I knocked on the door, but it was already open. I carefully went in, but the entire place was empty. I then heard two voices coming from another room with a light coming from under a closed door. I knocked on the door.

"Hello? Callie? Marie?" I called out.

"Fin? Is that you?" Marie answered.

"Yeah, it's me. What's going on?"

"Marie and I were going out for dinner," Callie said. "We were thinking you could come along and tell us about your first...um, you-know-what."

"Oh, sure. I'd love to go. But I'm not paying for your meals this time."

"It's cool. We know a place we can go, and we can pay for it."

"Sounds good. Also, this question is off-topic. Is this your dressing room?"

"Yup. So, don't come in. We're still changing," Marie said.

"Don't worry. I won't." I waited for them to come out. I leaned on the door which in reality was not a good thing. Apparently, the door wasn't firmly closed, and when I leaned my weight on the door, it flew open and I fell into the room.

"Ow." I looked up and instantly saw Marie. As soon as she saw me, she covered herself up and screamed in horror. I covered my eyes and closed the door.

"I JUST TOLD YOU NOT TO COME IN!" she yelled angrily.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I-I honestly d-didn't mean to do that!" I said nervously as I felt my face start burning again. (I was serious, by the way. I'm not that kind of guy, and I did _not_ see anything.)

I went outside of the studio room and waited for them. Soon, they came out in there disguises, but Marie was blushing red with anger and embarrassment.

"Uh, l-look, I-I..." I started to say. She quickly cut me off by slapping me across the face. That girl has a mean slap.

"I thought you were better than that!" Marie said while turning her back to me.

"I-I'm so sorry! The door was still opened, but I didn't know it was. I leaned on it and fell in."

"You _really_ expect me to believe that?!"

"I don't know, Marie," Callie said skeptically. "Finley doesn't seem like the type of Inkling to do something like that willingly..."

"She's right! I'd never do that on purpose!"

Marie glared back at me for a second. "I can't say that I completely believe you, but...I'll let this one pass if you're truly honest about it."

"Cross all three of my hearts and hope to die. I did not mean to do that on purpose."

"You said that already."

"I know, and I've never broken a promise whenever I've said that."

"Really?" Callie said. "For real?"

"That's my special promise. Whenever I speak the absolute truth, I always say that."

Marie still didn't look at me.

"Marie, please?"

"Whatever. Let's just go to the restaurant." She took off in a huff down the hall.

"So, am I forgiven?"

"Not just yet."

Callie looked at her then at me.

"Don't worry, Fin," she reassured as she rested a hand on my shoulder. "She'll get over it in a little while. She always gets like this whenever I do something bad to her."

"When do you think she'll get over it?"

"Uh...I...don't know..." she said uneasily. "But, hey, she didn't say you couldn't come with us anymore." She laughed uncomfortably.

I sighed hopelessly. "Let's go. Where are we eating, anyway?"

* * *

 _ **AN:**_ **Oh, boy. Looks like Finley found himself on Marie's bad side. And after such a successful mission, too. Anyway, hope you guys like this chapter. Chapter 8 will come soon.**


	8. A Meal to Remember

Splatoon: Agent 3 Begins

Chapter 8: A Meal to Remember

Callie and I left the studio building to quickly catch up with Marie. By this time, it was getting kinda dark, but several buildings in the plaza had bright, neon lights that lit up the area. As we left the alley, we saw Marie turn a corner. We ran to try to keep up with her. However, once we caught up to her on the sidewalk, she sped up to stay ahead of us. That didn't reassure me that there would be any hope of her forgiving me anytime soon. Callie could probably tell I was still upset because during the walk to the restaurant, she kept trying to keep me positive.

"Okay," she said. "So you accidentally came into our dressing room and saw parts of Marie that you wish you hadn't. Big deal. _You_ know it was an accident, and I'm pretty sure it was."

"Callie, I need to know something," I said. "How come you believe it was an accident, but she doesn't?"

She smiled. "To me, you seem too nice to do something like that."

"I do?"

"Yeah. I mean, you were so polite to us. You offered to pay for our breakfast and helped us get away from some paparazzi. You even said that you would protect us from someone who might hurt our feelings."

"That's true. Wait, is that why you wanted me to come to dinner with you two?"

"Well, even though we just met this morning, you said you consider us your friends, right?"

"Of course."

"So, can you come up with another way for us to get to know each other better?"

"Um, not right now..." ( Actually, I probably could've, but my stomach growled "Free food?! Don't ruin this, I'm hungry!")

"See? Besides, if you're an agent now, too, it could help if we knew more about each other. Don't you think?"

I nodded. She did make a good point. But another question came to my mind.

"Hey, won't people recognize you two at the restaurant?"

"Relax, we're in disguise."

"I know, but don't you think that because of what happened this morning, people might recognize you from pictures they took?"

Callie pondered the thought. "Hopefully, none of our crazier fans will be there. It'll be fine."

"Why do I doubt that..?" I thought.

Eventually, we went into a restaurant called Chill Krill's Grill (Uh...nice name...I think...). We took our seats at a booth. The sisters sat opposite from me. An uncomfortably awkward silence filled the air around us as we looked at our menus. But it didn't last too long because Callie began the small talk.

"So, Finley," she began. "Tell us about yourself."

"Well," I said. "I don't exactly know where to start...what would you like to know?"

"Hmm. How about this: what brings you to Inkopolis?"

"Uh, I don't know. I guess people from my hometown kept talking about how amazing it is here, and I finally decided that I should see what it's all about."

"Not really the most exciting reason for someone to move here," Marie muttered. We chose to ignore that, but the white-haired Inkling was fine with it.

"So, where did you live before you came here?" Callie asked.

"Calamari County." Once I said that, she froze in shock and amazement.

"WHAAAAAAT?!" she shrieked. "YOU'RE SQUIDDING! SERIOUSLY?!"

That took me by surprise. "Y-Yeah. I was born and raised there. W-Why is that so shocking?"

"Marie and I are from there, too! We won the first Annual Youth Folk-Singing Contest there years ago. That performance launched our careers as pop singers."

"Wow. What are the chances that we're all from the same town? And we meet each other for the first time in a different city?"

"Small world, I guess."

We shared a laugh. But Marie still looked silently at her menu.

"Uh, so, anyway, what do you two plan to eat?" I said.

"I don't know," Callie said. "Maybe a burger. What about you, Marie?"

"I have a taste for pizza, actually," she said.

"Let me guess, one that doesn't have pineapples?"

"Or anchovies."

"Yuck! Okay, I'll agree with you there. What about you, Fin?"

I shrugged. Our jellyfish waitress came to our table ready to take our orders.

"Hello, order, please?" she said. I guess she was learning how to speak our language.

"I'd like a catfish burger with some fries, please," Callie said happily.

"And I'd like two pepperoni pizza slices, please," Marie said. Then, an idea struck me as soon as she spoke.

"Actually, make that a full-sized pizza, please," I added quickly. Marie looked surprised. The waitress understood, took our order, and left.

"I didn't want a _full-sized_ pizza!" Marie snapped at me.

"I know, but I just figured maybe we could share it. I've never been to this restaurant, but you can't really go wrong with pizza."

She looked at me with a strange face as if she were trying to think of a comeback, but she couldn't come up with one.

"I guess you have a point..." she said defeated but obviously annoyed. Callie mouthed "Nice" and nodded. I think that meant that Marie was easing up on me. I hope...

After we got our food, I noticed that Callie was thinking hard about something. Suddenly, her eyes began shifting between me and Marie, and a sly sharp-fanged grin appeared on her face. She was up to something. After my first time seeing _that_ smile, I became an agent; so now, I've learned to be cautious whenever she does that.

"Oh, miss waitress?" she said sweetly. Our waitress came back and greeted us. "You're not gonna believe this. We actually forgot to ask for drinks. What do you have?"

The jellyfish woman pointed to another room. "There are drinks for selves."

"Okay. Thank you very much," Callie said as the woman left. Marie looked confused.

"Cal, what are you doing?" she asked. "We've been here before. You know where the drinks are."

"I was just wondering. Just in case they moved it. Does anyone want anything?"

"Oh, uh, I-I'll get the drinks," I offered.

"Oh, no. I'll get them. I insist. What would you like? They have sodas and teas. I personally recommend lemon tea."

"Hmm. Lemon tea sounds kinda good actually."

"What about you, Marie? Seriously gross milk tea for you?"

Marie honestly looked a bit offended, but I don't know why.

"You know I totally won that Splatfest," she said somewhat defensively.

Callie stuck out her tongue at Marie who promptly returned the favor.

"I'll be right back," Callie said as she left, leaving me alone with Marie...

I finally understood what Callie's plan was. She left so that I could talk to Marie about the incident! (Gee, thanks a lot, Callie. This will totally work. NOT.)

I swallowed my uneasiness. I had to make this right with her. Even though, right now, she doesn't look thrilled to even look at me.

"Sooooo," I started slowly, "should I say it again?"

"If by 'it', you mean 'I'm so sorry for accidentally coming into your dressing room'?" she said while turning from me. "Then, no. I've heard it plenty of times. And I'm still debating whether you're honest about it or not."

Now, she's just being difficult, and at this point, I'm starting to lose my patience.

"Marie," I said a bit more sternly. "Honestly, what would I have to gain if I did that on purpose?"

"Um, I don't know. Maybe a good view of me and Callie?" she said getting more angry.

"I'm not that kind of guy!"

"Funny, that's what a lot of guys said."

Okay, now this lady is getting on my nerves. But before I could say what I thought she deserved, a new thought came to me. I calmed myself down.

"A lot of guys said that?" I asked. "Exactly, what happened if this happened before?"

"Wouldn't you like to know...?"

"Yeah, I would," I said as bluntly as possible. Marie began to say something, but instead, she sighed deeply.

"Fine," she said. "If you must know, back when our careers began, Callie and I moved here to Inkopolis. We got an actual manager to help get us real stage performance gigs."

"Wow, that had to be fun," I said. She glared at me, and that instantly told me "Not entirely, and don't interrupt."

"Not entirely, and don't interrupt," she said. I nodded and pretended to zip my mouth shut. (But, seriously, did I call it or what?)

"Because we were just starting a career in music, it was kinda hard to land a good gig. To support ourselves, we had some part-time jobs at Walleye Warehouse and even competed in some Turf Wars. And as time went on, we made some friends. At least, I thought we did..."

"What do you mean?" I asked. Although, I kept my mouth shut as I ate my pizza slice, so it came out more like," Mmmm-mm-mmm-mmmm?" Surprisingly, she understood me.

"Everything was great. We hung out, played Turf Wars, and Callie and I adjusted to life in the city. However, once we started getting more performance gigs, more people began recognizing us. We started getting more fans, but of course, that means even more attention. Since most of our friends knew were getting famous, some of them began thinking that they could benefit from knowing us personally..."

"Oh, boy...I think I see where this is going..." I groaned. "What happened?"

"Some of them began asking if we could sign some of their stuff. They also started bugging us about lending them some coins so that they could buy something really expensive. Eventually, we noticed that they somehow managed to have small crowds of people follow them around everywhere. They clearly enjoyed the special attention that came with knowing the Squid Sisters."

"So, after they got well-known, what happened to them?"

"The popularity got to their heads, and soon, the only reason they came to our apartment was to get more money or autographed merchandise either to sell or show off." Marie's eyes began to water. "That I could tolerate. But later, some of them, mostly the guys, got a little too personal."

"Oh, no..."

"Fin, let me ask you. Did you enjoy what you saw?"

"Uh, um...well, I, uh..." I stammered as I felt myself blush. "I-I didn't see much. I-I tried my best to not look in your direction."

"Well, some of those guys saw plenty when they 'accidentally' came into the room."

I was speechless when I realized what happened. Those idiots went in there on purpose. _Have they no shame?!_

"Yeah, that happened," Marie said bitterly as black tears (Was she wearing mascara?) rolled down her cheeks. "What's worse is that some of them took photos."

Wow. Now, _that_ was a new low.

"I had no idea. I-I'm sorry that happened."

"After that, Callie and I agreed that we should be more careful about who we talk to. We never wanted that to happen again."

"And now, you met me, and that incident happened."

She nodded while wiping away her tears. "I honestly thought I could trust some of them...and...I thought they were our friends..."

At that point, I knew I had to say something to reassure her.

"Marie..." I said calmly. "Don't you remember earlier today?"

"What?"

"I made a promise to both of you. I'd never use you two to get popular or rich. Honestly, I hate the spotlight, so you two can gladly have it."

She chuckled softly. "Looks like someone has stage fright..."

"Like you wouldn't believe. But I'm serious. In fact, I won't even tell anyone else that I know you two."

She looked at me silently for a minute.

"Y-You're willing to do that for us? You really _are_ sorry for this, aren't you?"

"More than anything. You can trust me. Although, I'll understand if you still don't forgive me..."

Marie gave it some thought and her expression changed from sad to thankful. "You know, maybe I can forgive you this time. I mean, you must be honest if you're apologizing so much for it."

"Definitely." I made my three-heart cross over my chest.

"Alright. I forgive you. And I'm sorry for smacking you earlier."

"I did kinda deserve it..."

We laughed, but suddenly, she paused. "Fin. Move over in your seat for a second."

"Uh, okay." I slid closer to the wall. Marie came over, sat down next to me, and pulled me in for a hug. It caught me off guard, and I found myself squeaking something that sounded like "Woomy!"

She finally forgave me.

"Aaawww," I heard Callie say while sniffling. "That was so...sweet..."

I saw that she was looking at us from the booth behind us. I assumed she just got through crying a bit because I saw some small black mascara streaks on her cheeks. (Sheesh, why were they both wearing so much makeup, anyway? They're in disguise...)

"Were you spying on us this whole time?" I asked her. She ignored the question, slid over the top of the chair in squid form, and sat between me and the wall. Then she hugged me, too.

"See, Marie? I told you that he wasn't like the others," Callie said. "Finley's a true friend."

"Yeah," Marie agreed.

"After hearing that story," I said, "I feel like you two could use a friend...I mean, a _r_ _eal_ friend."

* * *

 _ **AN:**_ **See? Everything worked out. Also, sorry if this chapter seemed a bit more "dramatic", but doesn't every story need a few serious moments? Hope you all enjoyed it, though. Review if you like.**


	9. Announcement

_**ANNOUNCEMENT**_

 **Okay, first things first. Sorry I've been silent in my writing for a while. I'm losing free time, so I won't be able to write as often as I want. So the next chapter might be the last one for a little bit. But don't worry. I haven't given up on this story and will continue writing it when I have the time. Also, I'd like to thank all of you for the positive reviews and encouragement for this story. I truly appreciate it.**

 **I also have a small request that is completely optional. Someone please draw/paint a picture of what Finley may look like to you (But _DO NOT_ claim him as your own character). ****He can be in your unique artistic style or whatever, but keep it appropriate. ****Or if you want, draw a scene that you liked from this story so far. And please send me a picture link. I'd like to use one _if you permit me_. Thank you.**

 **Refresher (Just in** **case):**

 **Finley has: brown skin, cyan hair/tentacles (styled like other Inkling boys), and red eyes.**

 **He casually wears:**

 **A black framed version of the Full Moon Glasses.**

 **A cyan hoodie (not found in-game).**

 **Black Hi-Horses with blue laces and blue soles (Yeah, these are sorta customized...also not in-game).**

 **Have fun drawing. _Send picture link in reviews_.**

 **I hope most of you will stick around for the rest of the story.**


	10. SoI'm Not Dreaming?

_**AN:**_ **All I have to say is that it's a miracle that I managed to put this chapter up and I hope you like it. This took such a long time to finish...**

* * *

Splatoon: Agent 3 Begins

Chapter 9: So...I'm Not Dreaming?

After that touching moment, we all finished our meals. Surprisingly, Callie actually did get some drinks for us.

We left the restaurant, and I decided to call it a night because it was very dark outside.

"Well, I think it's time for me to go home," I said. "I'm kinda tired."

"Yeah, me, too," Marie agreed. "I guess we'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Have a good night, and thanks for the dinner. It was great."

"Alright, good night, Fin," Callie said while yawning. She and Marie took off down the sidewalk and waved back at me.

I looked at my watch to see that it was 10:30 at night. I walked down the sidewalk in the same direction the Squid Sisters went. However, Marie noticed and looked back at me questioningly.

"Uh, Finley," she said. "I thought you were heading home."

"I am," I said. "I live this way."

"You're house is this way?"

"I live in Sunset Sea Apartments."

Callie spun around and started walking backwards.

"That's where we live, too!" she said happily.

Didn't see that coming...

"Why do you two live in an apartment?" I asked. "Don't you two have enough money to buy a house? Or, for that matter, a mansion?"

"Maybe enough to buy just a house, but not a mansion..."

"We live in an apartment for more privacy," Marie explained. "Although, it was Callie's idea."

"How do you have more privacy?" I asked.

"Nobody would think that celebrities like us would live in an apartment. It's so inconspicious."

"'Inconspicuous', Callie..." Marie corrected.

"Whatever."

"I guess you have a point?" I said under my breath. "Not sure if it makes sense, though..."

"It's unnoticeable, sure," Marie said. "But the other reason we live there is because I lost a bet..."

"Wait, what?"

"Callie wanted an apartment; I wanted a house. After a one-on-one Turf War, we said 'hello' to our new apartment."

Callie snickered smugly as she continued walking backwards. Marie stuck her foot out in her path to trip Callie, but she stepped over it.

"Ha Ha! Nice try, dear cousin," she said triumphantly as she stuck out her tongue.

"Cousin?"

"People take our stage name too literally," Marie said. "We're actually cousins, not sisters."

Didn't see that coming, either! Like most people, I thought they were sisters. But now that I think about it, "Squid Cousins" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue...

"But you two sure do act like sisters..."

"We've known each other for so long, we might as well be."

"We're even both 16," Callie said.

"Cool, we're the same age," I said. "Though, I will be 17 in a few weeks."

As we continued chatting, we nearly passed our apartment building. When we went inside, the Inkling woman at the front desk greeted us.

"Hello, Mr. Splatterson," she said. "I see you've met the special residents of the building..."

"Special residents? Uh, I-I have no idea w-what you mean..." I said nervously.

"It's cool, Fin," Callie said. "Carol already knows who we are."

"Oh, then, never mind..."

"Did you have a nice day?" Carol asked.

"It was...eventful...but I'm glad it's over now."

"But there should be more excitement coming tomorrow," Marie said. "Which reminds me. Neither one of you wake me up if you get up early. I'm gonna sleep in tomorrow."

"Don't we have to wake up for the morning broadcast tomorrow?" Callie asked.

"Yeah, but I'm gonna enjoy my sleep anyway, so don't wake me up."

The two went on about Marie's sleeping habits as they walked to the elevators. Carol and I looked at each other.

"Do they...?" I started.

"Get stuck talking about a weird subject a lot?" she finished. I nodded. "Sometimes. But you get used to it after a while."

"Let's hope I do. Well, have a good night, Carol."

"Thanks. You, too."

I walked to the elevators, but the sis-er, I mean, cousins-had already left. I went up to my apartment and got ready for bed. While getting ready, I started pondering over the events of the day. So much had happened. I made friends with two pop stars. I fought in a Turf War and unintentionally gained a rival. And I became a special agent and fought a race of octopus people. Not too bad for my first full day in Inkopolis, right? Although it was good, I had a lingering uneasy feeling.

"This had to be a dream, right?" I thought as I got into bed. "Usually when things go so well for someone, it either means bad things are to come or I'm dreaming. Sure, I did want a little excitement in my life when I got here, but...all the stuff that I went through today couldn't have just happened in one day. This had to be a dream. There's no way I could've met _the_ Squid Sisters and became an agent. When I wake up tomorrow, things are gonna be so different, but it'll be reality again, so I might as well get ready for it."

These thoughts swarmed in my head as I started falling asleep. A part of me just knew that today was some sort of super-realistic dream and didn't want it to be real, but the other part disagreed (as usual). I finally fell asleep, but my thoughts kept going. Did today REALLY just happen?

* * *

I woke up. I got out of bed and put on my clothes. Ready and willing to face reality, I put on my headphones and prepared to head out the door. I went down to the first floor and went out the door. However, right as I was leaving the building, I heard a familiar peppy voice that made me freeze in place...and almost made two of my hearts stop...

"Hi, Fin!" Callie said. I turned around slowly to see her sitting on a couch in the lobby listening to music. She waved and smiled brightly. However, I was in total shock.

"HOLY CARP!" I screamed internally. "THAT WASN'T A DREAM!" I was freaking out so much that I didn't realize that she came up to me.

"Uh, you okay?" she asked worriedly. I was still in denial, but I managed to slowly nod.

"Uh, w-where's Marie? Still s-sleeping?"

"Mm-hmm! She made it really clear not to wake her up until...actually, right now." Callie took out her cellphone and texted her. She sent "TIME 2 WAKE UP!" and started walking outside. I went outside to walk with her.

"Do you think that she'll wake up to that text?" I asked.

"Oh, I think she will," she said deviously. "I made her ringtone for her texts crazy loud."

"Ooh, wow, that...heh, that's quite the wake up call!"

We laughed as we imagined Marie scrambling out of bed. Suddenly, I realized that I forgot my backpack. I told Callie to keep going, and I'll try to catch up. I ran back to the building and back to my apartment. My backpack was on right where I left it last night, but before I took it, I looked inside. My Agent 3 suit and my Hero Shot were still in there. That confirmed to me that I was definitely not dreaming...

As I left my apartment, I saw Marie walk speedily past my door.

"Morning, Marie," I said. She stopped in her tracks and turned to see me.

"Hey, Fin, what's up?" she said.

"You, after Callie's text message surprise," I said while trying not to laugh too much.

"Ha ha..." she laughed dryly. "That was a good trick."

"She told me what she did. I wish I could've seen your reaction."

"I almost fell out of bed!" She looked at the clock on her cell. "And now I'm almost late. I need to go. Wanna come with me?"

"Eh, sure."

We went outside of the building, and before I started walking toward the plaza, Marie held me back.

"Hang on, I have an idea..." she said. "Let's squid-jump to the plaza."

"Really? A-Are you sure?"

"It's not that far. Plus, I'm too tired to walk."

"Tired? Or lazy."

She glared at me. "Hmph! I'm also trying to do it more so that I'll get used to it and not get air sick whenever I do it."

"Makes sense...sorta..."

We changed into our squid forms and squid-jumped to the plaza. However, I never planned where I was gonna land, so I landed in Spyke's alley in his pile of snail shells. Luckily for me, he wasn't around. Once I got out of the pile, I noticed that Marie wasn't around.

"I landed, but she hasn't yet? Where is she?" I thought.

"INCOMING!" I heard her yell from above. She was coming right towards me, and at that split second, I realized what was gonna happen next. She landed on top of me...AGAIN!

"Why does this keep happening to _me_?!" I said while I was face down on the ground. Marie quickly stood up and helped me to my feet.

"Sorry..." she said sheepishly.

"No problem..." I said painfully. "At least this time I got a warning..."

"True. Anyway, I gotta go. See ya!" She went into the side entrance. When the door closed, I left the alley and went into the plaza. As usual, it was still busy.

"I probably should get ready for 'work'," I thought. I walked over to the sewer grate near Judd's bin and dove in. I popped out of the other grate and found Cap'n Cuttlefish napping in an old chair. He looked so content that I decided not to wake him up. Instead, I went over to where the baby zapfish were being held and counted them to make sure that none were missing. While I was looking at them, one of them splashed me with water. I then recognized that particular zapfish.

"Oh, it's you. The first zapfish I rescued," I said. It caught me by surprise when it hopped up into my arms and shocked me with its whiskers. "Whoa! Take it easy, little guy."

It nuzzled closer to me and made a purring (well, more of a gurgling/purring/buzzing) sound. I guess this one liked me a bit. As I got a closer look at it, I noticed that this one looked a bit different from the others. The other zapfish had curly electric whiskers, but this one had them in a zig-zag shape. Otherwise, it looked the same as all the others. It reminded me a lot of...well, me.

"Hmm, I guess you and I are one of a kind for our species, huh?" I said. The little guy zapped me again; but strangely, it didn't hurt as badly. "Maybe I'll give you a name...as soon as I think of one...but for now, you'll need to stay in here, okay?"

The zapfish nodded and hopped into the tank while splashing me with water again. I chuckled at how silly the little fish was. I moved on to put on my Agent 3 gear and got out my Hero Shot. I walked around the nearby area trying to find another small kettle. What I found instead surprised me. I found a _huge_ kettle resting on a purple platform that kinda looked like a big pillow. It was open, but I was hesitant to go in it.

"Why is this one different from the others...?" I thought. Before I started to second guess myself, I took a deep breath. "I need to stop thinking too deeply about this kind of stuff. Maybe this kettle just has something special in it? I'll never know unless I go in it."

I changed into a squid and dove into the kettle. As I fell, I thought "Who knows? This mission might be easy."

* * *

Once again, I landed in a pool of green ink. This time, I was in some sort of dark arena. Several lights hanging from the ceiling pointed directly to a central round platform with a...giant, metal cube on it. That didn't look good. The platform that I was on was small, and the only thing that was there was a launchpad. I swam over to it and squid-jumped over to the big platform.

When I landed, a captured baby zapfish was lowered slowly onto the top of the big cube thing. It startled both of us when an octopus tentacle came out of a hole on top of the cube and pulled the zapfish inside of it. The cube sparked and did the weirdest thing that I have seen. It sprouted small legs hopped up onto them revealing a large (and really creepy) inky, fuchsia face with green eyes. We both stood there staring at each other for a long time until a loud voice boomed around us.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Well, if it isn't the new inksquirt?" it said menacingly.

"W-Who s-said t-that...?" I said nervously. "A-And who a-are y-you...?"

"You'll know who I am soon enough! All you need to know is that this is the end for you. Behold! Great Octoweapon Number One: THE MIGHTY OCTOSTOMP!"

The Octostomp let out a loud metallic roar and charged toward me.

"WHY DID I SAY THAT THIS MIGHT BE EASY?!" I yelled as I ran around it. It continued chasing me and slamming its face to the ground to squash me. I sprayed ink all over the ground to move away from it faster, but an idea struck me as I was swimming in it. After the giant metal face slammed down again, I stopped moving and waited for it to get up again. While it struggled to get up, I saw the tentacle from earlier sticking out from on top of it. "Maybe that might do something."

It got back up, and I moved in carefully. This plan was crazy, but it was all that I could think of. While I was in my ink, the Octostomp couldn't see me, so I moved slowly toward it as it was wandering around looking for me.

"Here goes nothing," I thought. I stood up out of my ink and shot its back. It turned around and began to fall on its face again; but this time, I dove out of the way, sprayed ink on the side of the machine and swam up to the tentacle on its back. I shot it with ink until it burst. I didn't know if that tentacle was attached to anything, but I also didn't have time to speculate. The Octostomp began shaking violently, and I squid-jumped as far away as I could from it. It then sprouted another tentacle (Seriously, is an Octarian in that thing or something?) and stood up. It seemed to have taken damage because several metal plates on its sides broke off. The machine roared ferociously again, and somehow, the ink that was on the ground vanished. It charged for me again.

I finally figured it out. Get it to miss its attack, climb up to the tentacle, and splat it. For however long that may be, I had no clue. But at least I had a plan...

After a while of running the same plan twice, I splatted the tentacle for a third time. I squid-jumped away and looked back at the giant machine. It didn't try to get back up this time. Instead, it began sparking and shaking uncontrollably until it froze. Then...BOOM! It exploded and showered green ink all over the arena. All that was left was the newly-released baby zapfish. I went over to it and freed it.

I found a way to get back to the surface with the zapfish, and when I did, I put the zapfish into the tank. As soon as I did, my zapfish friend came back up and tried to splash me with water again. I ducked out of the way, and the water nearly hit the still sleeping Cap'n.

"Good to see you, too," I said to it. I sighed and sat down near the tank. The zapfish hopped out of the tank again, and I caught it. It looked so glad to see me. "You are one crazy little fish, aren't you?"

It shocked me again playfully. It still didn't hurt...

"I don't suppose you want to hear how my mission went, do you?" The zapfish perked up. I took that as a 'yes'. I told it the whole story, and it listened intently. When I finished, I sighed.

"You know, little...guy?" It nodded affirming to me that it was male. "Even though I'm not dreaming, I never would've thought that I'd be doing any of this in a million years. Fighting Octarians and giant robots seems like a crazy idea. Yet I'm living it, right now. I'm not so sure if I can do all this. What if I can't do it...?"

The zapfish shocked me again with all his might. Now, _that_ hurt like crazy!

"Oww...what was that for?" He nuzzled closer to me. "Sheesh, anything I say that you'll disagree with will spark up that much of a reaction from you?"

I paused for a minute. _Spark..._

"Hmm...S-Sparky...?" I said aloud. The zapfish looked at me curiously. "Hey...maybe that can be your name...Sparky."

The zapfish's eyes lit up with happiness. He really seemed to like that name.

"You like that name?" I asked. His whiskers shocked me playfully again. "Okay. 'Sparky', it is."

Despite finding a new fried in Sparky, I was still unsure if I was still able to protect him and Inkopolis from the Octarians now that I know what they're capable of. But at least I know that some people-and even fish-believes that I might be able to do it. I just hope they're right. Aside from that, I also had a question burning in my mind about this recent mission...

"Whose voice did I hear down there...?"

* * *

 _ **AN:**_ **Well, that's it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope to see some possible artwork in the future. The next chapter will come soon but not for a while.**


	11. Splatfest Struggles

**_AN:_ I'M BACK! And with the next chapter. Hope you'll enjoy it. I still can't believe I was able to write this.**

* * *

Splatoon: Agent 3 Begins

Chapter 10: Splatfest Struggles

After I said goodbye to Sparky, I prepared to leave for Inkopolis. However, Cap'n Cuttlefish had started waking up.

"Ahh, a nap does an old squid some good," he said with a yawn. "I feel like a million coins."

"Hey, Cap'n," I said.

"Oh ho! Glad to see that yer here, bucko. I got a tall mission for ya."

"Um...did it involve a giant Kettle? Because if it did, I'm done with it already."

"Already?! How long was I sleeping?"

"You were out when I came here."

"What did ye see in the Boss Kettle?"

I told him about the Octostomp and the mysterious voice that I heard. As I did, his expression turned serious.

"This doesn't sound good. Whoever that voice was wants to make himself known to us. I wonder..."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Nothing...just thinking. Anyway, good work on this mission, agent. Are ye heading out?"

I nodded. "For now."

Just before I left through the grate to Inkopolis, we heard a buzzing sound come from the shack.

"Hmm? A message for me?" the Cap'n said. He went back into the shack and came back with a paper. As he read it, he sighed and shook his head.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Uh, my grandsquids are at it again...I hate to ask, bucko, but could ye check on 'em for me."

"Sure." I waved goodbye to him and dove into the grate. When I came out on the other side, the plaza was in a buzz. "I wonder what's going on."

Just then, I saw a girl sitting on a bench nearby and recognized her. It was Amy. And she looked like she just saw something crazy happen on the jumbo screen. I walked over to her.

"Amy?" I said. She looked at me.

"Oh! Hey, Finley," she said nicely. "Did you see what happened on screen with the Squid Sisters?"

"Um, no. I had...other business to take care of. What happened?"

"They had an argument live on Inkopolis News. They were talking about who won more Splatfests."

"How do they not know who won more?"

"They know. Callie won more overall, but Marie thinks she won all the more important ones. She started bragging a little about winning this recent one, and Callie got fed up with her smack talk. After an exchange of words, they're saying the next Splatfest will be personal."

"That sounds...bad..." I said uneasily. "Now, Amy, I got a question?"

"What's up?"

"I just realized something. What's Splatfest anyway?"

Her eyes grew wide in disbelief. "You don't know what Splatfest is?!"

"Give me a break. I'm still knew here."

"Right...well, I'll explain it to you. Basically, Splatfest is this awesome party that gets thrown here in the plaza. The Squid Sisters host it and perform a concert here throughout the night. The main thing of Splatfest is that there's a theme announced for each one. Each theme has two choices and the sisters pick opposing sides to root for. Everyone in it votes for which side they like more, and on the night of Splatfest, they compete in Turf Wars to prove which one is better."

"So, in short, Splatfest is a city-wide fan war..." I said.

"Pretty much. Speaking of fans, I've seen people compete in a Splatfest Turf War only because they're supporting their favorite Squid Sister. Some didn't even know the theme."

"Like I said, fan war." We laughed.

"Let's just hope that there won't be a Callie verses Marie Splatfest," she continued.

"If that happens, I'll stay at home," I said.

"Yeah. So, what are you up to anyway?"

"I got some stuff to do."

"Such as..."

"Stuff that's none of your business."

She laughed dryly. "You're hilarious. Honestly, I was hoping we could do a few Turf Wars together."

"Sorry. Maybe later. But what I need to do now requires my attention apparently. I have to go. See ya." I waved and took off toward Spyke's alley. Luckily, the door leading to the girls' studio was far enough so that Amy didn't see me go in.

When I went up to the studio, I didn't hear anything. I carefully opened the door and walked in. Marie was sitting at the table in the studio looking at her cellphone.

"Uh, hey, Marie," I said. She turned and waved. "I-Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?" she said.

"Well, I heard that there's some problems between you and Callie. By the way, where is she?"

"Heading home. Probably crying right now." As she said that, she turned from me again as if she didn't care.

"Are you serious?" I said in shock. "And you're not there, why?"

"I don't feel like speaking to her right now. You see, we-"

"Had a fight about Splatfests. I know. I ran into Amy, and she told me the whole story. And explained Splatfest to me."

"So, you know why."

"Yeah, and the Cap'n told me to check up on you two. But now it looks like this argument needs a mediator. Which means...you two are gonna make up."

"Good luck with that. I did nothing wrong."

"Sure, I can see that. I'm pretty sure Callie started the whole thing anyway."

"Thank you! You're on my side."

"Absolutely. But either way, we might want to check on her."

"Sure. Whatever."

We went outside to the plaza and squid-jumped back to the apartment building. By now, I think you guys should know something. As of now, I'm on neither one's side. It's dishonest, sure. But what else can I do to get her to take me to their place?

Marie led me to their apartment which was on the same floor as mine. Go figure. She opened the door and welcomed me inside. Not gonna lie, it was just as girly as I would imagine, but it looked fresh. Marie sat down on a white sofa that changed to a lime green where she sat. I've heard of sofas that can change to the color of ink that the person sitting on it has. I decided to admire that later. I then heard Callie behind a closed door crying.

"Oh, boy. Is she gonna come out?"

She shrugged. I decided to go check up on her. I went to the room and knocked on it. No answer. I knocked again a bit louder.

"GO AWAY!" I heard Callie yell.

"Callie, it's me, Fin. Can I come in?"

"NO!"

"Can you at least come out so I can see you?"

"If _she's_ out there, then no!"

Marie groaned and got up.

"Callie, stop acting like a squishy and come out already!" she demanded. "You can't stay in there forever."

"I'm not talking to you!" she yelled back. "Now, leave me alone!"

"FINE! Be that way! I'm not talking to you either!"

"Marie, that's not helping..." I said. "Could you leave for a bit, please?"

"Wha-?! Why?!"

"Look, just hide somewhere, and I'll call you back, okay?"

She rolled her eyes and went to what I assumed was her room.

"Okay, Callie," I continued. "She's gone."

"Really?"

"Yes. I told her to leave so we could talk."

She slowly poked her head out of the room and eventually opened the door. Her face had dark streaks running from all the crying through her makeup. I led her to the sofa, and we sat down together.

"This is a stupid question, but are you okay?" I asked.

She shook her head and sniffled. "No. Marie's being mean, and I'm done putting up with it."

"I heard about your argument. I'm gonna try to get to the bottom of this."

"How?"

"Alright, Marie. You can come out now."

Marie came out from her room. The two glared menacingly at each other, but looked away refusing to acknowledge each other.

"Come on, Marie. Have a seat." She silently sat down on the other side of me. "So, let's recap. You two are arguing on who really won more Splatfests, right?"

"It's still me..." Marie said under her breath.

"Don't start, Marie!" Callie said angrily. "You know I won more Splatfests. Why can't you just accept that?"

"Because the ones that you won were unimportant. I won the only ones that really mattered."

"Says you! Those were rigged!"

"They were not! I won fair and square!"

"THAT'S IT! I'm not staying here! I'm leaving!" She got up to leave, but I pulled her back by her wrist.

"Not so fast, Callie," I said sternly. "I'd like to end this today before it gets worse. Now, I'm gonna ask some questions and give you both time to answer. While one of you are speaking, the other keeps her mouth shut. Okay? Can you do that?"

They glared at each other again and begrudgingly agreed.

"Alright. So, Callie, you won more Splatfests officially, right?"

"Yeah."

"What does that mean to you exactly? You're just happy you won?"

"Yeah, I mean, it's simple. If the side that I root for wins, of course I'm gonna be happy and celebrate it."

"Okay, then what do you say to her after you win?" I gestured to Marie. "And don't sugarcoat it."

"Uh...well, I tend to...rub in the wins sometimes..."

"Mm-hmm. Does she do that to you?"

"Yeah, like all the time."

"Don't you think in some way it's deserved? If you won more, doesn't she deserve a chance to get payback for when you do it?"

"I-I...uh...huh..." she fell silent in thought.

"And Marie, How do you feel when she does that?"

She stayed silent for a bit.

"Well?"

"I feel really annoyed," Marie said. "I just think it's a little...unnecessary. I already know I lost so she doesn't have to rub it in anymore."

"Isn't Splatfest a friendly competition?"

"Normally, yes. Nothing's at stake. It's all in fun, but sometimes..."

"What is it?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Nope. Not this time. Something's bothering you. What's wrong?"

Marie finally sighed. "Splatfest has two percentages: popularity and number of wins. The number of wins really determine who wins. Most of the time, I win the popular vote, but sometimes I wonder do people do that for the theme or us?"

"What do you mean?" Callie asked.

"More people are willing to fight for you rather than for me in a Turf War. That's just...unfair. I've heard when two opposing teams battle, the side that you're supporting battles harder and wipes the floor with my team. It's like the more dedicated players are on your side."

"Now, Marie, I'm sure anybody on your side would give it their all in a Turf War," Callie continued. "I know I would."

"Really?" she asked. "You would?"

"Of course. You're not only my cousin, you're my best friend. You know I'm always there for you."

"Yeah."

"You know what, I'm gonna change this around. On the next Splatfest we have, I'll be on your side."

"You'd be willing to do that for me?"

"Absolutely."

"Callie, I..." I stood up, and Callie slid over seats. Before Marie could get more words out, Callie pulled her in for a tight hug.

"I'm sorry for bragging so much," she said. "I'll never do it again."

"I-I'm sorry, too," Marie said while hugging her back. "I know I can be kinda harsh sometimes, but I didn't mean to make you so upset."

"It's okay. I did kinda deserve it."

"You don't have to be on my side if you don't want to."

"Well, if I'm not officially, I still want you to win the next one."

"Thanks, Callie..."

"So, we're cool?"

"Yeah, we are, as always."

This went WAY better than I thought it would.

"Well, I'm glad you two made up," I said.

"Even when we have our disagreements, we still love each other," Callie said.

"Thanks for helping us smooth things over, Fin," Marie said sweetly.

"My pleasure. I've dealt with situations like this before, mostly with my siblings."

"Must've been a handful."

"Oh, yeah." We all chuckled. Marie then spoke up.

"Hey, Fin. I got a question for you," she said.

"What's up?"

"Are you gonna be in this next Splatfest?"

"Yeah. It sounds fun except for the drama on the sidelines."

"Well, we don't know what the theme is yet, but regardless of it, which side would you be on?"

"Hmm...that's a tough one. I don't know."

"Hey, when it comes, pick the side I'm supposed to support," Callie said.

"Callie..." Marie groaned. "You didn't learn a thing, did you?"

"I won't let you know who I'm supporting until it's announced," I said. "That way, I'll focus on the theme and not on the one supporting it."

"Sounds fair," they said.

"So while you're here, wanna just hang out for a bit?" Callie offered.

"Sure. I could tell you guys about how the rest of my day went."

"Oh, right. You went on a mission again. I'll order takeout. What would you guys like?"

"Pick your favorite restaurant, Callie," Marie said. Callie smiled and ran to get her cellphone.

I sat down on the sofa again. Marie turned on a massive T.V. and made herself comfortable.

"Wow," I thought. "A problem as an agent and a problem with friends solved in the same day. My life is so weird now. But I love it!"

* * *

 _ **AN:**_ **My idea for Splatfests was that all of them (even in other regions) take place every few months. I know Splatfests are over now, but the events in this chapter happen after the results of the Early Birds vs. Night Owls Splatfest. And we all knew what the results dialogue was hinting at. Fin will participate in at least _that_ one Splatfest before they're all over, and it may be one of the toughest decisions in his life. We'll see his decision way later.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Review if you like.**


	12. Octolings on the Offense

_**AN : **_**Thanks to Christmas break,** **I finally had some time to put up the next chapter! Hope you all enjoy it.**

* * *

Splatoon: Agent 3 Begins

Chapter 11: Octolings on the Offense

As the three of us waited for the food to come, I passed the time by telling the cousins about my most recent mission in Octo Valley.

"...and then the giant robot tried to splat me by crushing me with its face," I continued.

"Its 'face'?" Marie asked. "Seriously...?"

"I know. It's stupid, but it _was_ dangerous."

"We're sorry that you had to do it all alone," Callie said. "We should've helped you out."

"Don't worry about it. All that matters is that my mission is done for today. So I can just relax and not worry about Octarians until tomorrow."

Looking back on it, I probably shouldn't have said that last part. Marie changed the T.V. to a different news channel.

"Breaking news!" a male Inkling newscaster said. "Commotion down by Blackbelly Skatepark has everyone scrambling to evacuate the area from what many describe as 'a bunch of octopi that are spreading fuchsia ink all over the area'."

The screen change to a view of the skatepark with several octopi swimming around in the ink.

All of us looked back and forth at each other and the T.V. in shock.

"Why? Why did I think that was it for today?!" I said loudly. "I should know better than that!"

"Now is not the time to complain," Marie said. "Now is the time to get suited up and get to that skatepark."

"Wow, Marie. I never really expect you to tell _someone else_ to stop complaining," Callie said.

"Something you want to say, Callie?" she said almost threateningly.

"N-Nothing! Forget I said anything! Let's just go."

"Wait. All of us?" I asked. "You mean this time you two are gonna help?"

"Of course. But we all have to change first."

"Right. And let's hurry..."

Callie and Marie nodded and went back to their rooms to change. After I changed, I began waiting for the girls. Marie came out of her room first. She wore a Hero Suit with a lime green vest instead of yellow and shoes that matched. She also wore her hat and surgeon's mask disguise and was holding a headset like mine. Callie came out with a magenta Hero Suit vest with matching shoes. Even though it was close to sunset, she still wore her pink sunglasses and beanie and held her headset.

"Alright, are we all set?" I asked.

"Almost," Callie said. She then pulled out a roller and a charger with the same designs as my Hero Shot. She tossed the charger to Marie. "Okay, now we're ready."

"Great! Let's go!"

"Hey, wait, Agent 3, I just realized something," Marie said.

"What is it?"

"You ought to wear a disguise, too. Just in case someone recognizes you."

"Who's gonna know it's me?"

"I don't know. But the news has a weird way of getting info and ruining one's privacy."

I thought about that for a second. With that kind of advice coming from a well-known pop star, I decided to take it.

"What do I wear then?"

"Ooh! I'll get the makeup!" Callie said excitedly.

"NO! No makeup, please! I think the main thing that makes me stick out are my eyes. And I'm pretty sure we can't change their color."

We all pondered it for a minute.

"Contacts!" Marie exclaimed.

"What?" Callie and I asked. Marie then left and came back with some light blue contacts lenses. "Oh..."

"These should do it."

"Why do you have contacts?" I asked. "You don't need them."

"I asked Sheldon to modify them in case something like this comes up. It changes your eye color and allows you to see clearly without your glasses."

That is weirdly specific. Although I've learned over the years that sometimes it's best not to question this stuff, later on, I have to ask her why she has them to begin with.

"I hate contacts..." I said while sighing. "But if I have to...so be it..."

I took them and put them on. I could see clearly without my glasses now so I put them in my backpack.

"Well, how do I look?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you look cuter with red eyes, actually," Callie said. I felt my face warm up. "But otherwise, you do look different with bright blue eyes."

"She thinks I look cute normally?" I thought.

"Okay, it works," Marie said to bring me back. "Let's go."

As I grabbed my Hero Shot, the girls led me to a balcony outside of their apartment. There was a yellow launchpad ready for us.

"I'll ask about why that's there later, too," I thought.

We all changed to our yellow ink color and launched toward Blackbelly Skatepark.

* * *

I landed near the skatepark first; but because I knew that the other two would land on me, I hid in my own ink to avoid that. Callie landed next to me, and Marie landed on the other side. I assumed it was safe and got out of the ink. Callie looked a little worried, though.

"Uh, Agent 1, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Um...I lost grip of my roller...in mid-air..." Callie said sheepishly.

"Mid-air?" Marie and I repeated. On cue, Callie's roller came flying in behind us and hit her behind the head almost knocking her over. Marie and I winced at the sight because it looked painful.

"OOOWWW!" Callie screamed while clutching her head. "Found it! And I thought we were friends, roller!" She kicked it before picking it up.

"Well, _I_ didn't get hurt this time..." I thought. "But Great Zapfish, that looked like it hurt!"

"You okay, Agent 1?" Marie asked.

Callie nodded and gave a thumbs up while rubbing her head.

"Alright. Well, we're here, and it looks like most of the people here ran off."

"Good," I said. "That way nobody innocent gets hurt. Now, let's spread out and look for Octarians."

"Aye aye, Agent 3!" they said while saluting. They squid-jumped in different directions to investigate. I was alone.

I slowly walked forward with my Hero Shot in hand wishing that I hadn't suggested spreading out. It was quiet. Way too quiet...

Suddenly, I heard the sounds of shots fired from a shooter coming from around a corner. Fuchsia ink splashed on the ground and something swam in it.

"Hey, uh, is someone there?" I asked. A small flat Octarian poked its head out of the ink and stared me blankly. "Okay...that's a little unsettling. But if the others are as small as you, this should be an easy cleanup."

What happened next was really unexpected. That little octopus changed into a humanoid form like an Inkling. And apparently, it was a girl. She had four big, curly, black hair tentacles with two seaweed stalks sticking up from her head like antennae, silver goggles, body armor, black fingerless gloves, black shorts with a brown belt, and black leather boots. She also had her own shooter in her hands and an ink tank on her back. _And she was aiming at me_!

"Oh, boy," I said. "Didn't see _that_ coming..." I mentally kicked myself for also thinking that this would've been easy...again...

She fired. I shot out ink on the ground and swam away as fast as I could. Soon, I found a place to hide. I tried telling the Squid Sisters what I found over my headset, but I was cut off when I saw two fuchsia Splat Bombs land in front of me. For a brief moment, I felt as though time slowed down. I swam away before they exploded and continued dodging the Octarians fire and bombs. The ground was becoming more and more covered in her ink color that I had to keep swapping between squid form and humanoid form to keep moving. She was persistently chasing me.

"H-Hey! C-Can't we t-talk this out?!" I asked. The "Octoling" (that's what I decided to call her) threw another bomb. "I'll take that as a 'No'!"

"Agent 3? You there?" I heard Marie say through my headset. "What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing," I said sarcastically, "I'm just being attacked by an Octoling. Not like I need help or anything."

"First of all, sarcasm is my thing. Second, if you're being attacked, where are you? And what the halibut is an 'Octoling'?"

"Never mind that. I honestly don't know where I am."

"Okay. Well, are you close to the Turf War area?"

"Yeah, actually."

"Perfect. Lure it there."

"I'll try..."

I swam as fast as I could to the actual skatepark. Once I got close, I was surprised to see several more puddles of Octarian ink scattered around the place as well as more Octolings swimming in them. Some of them changed their form revealing that they have dark red hair instead of black and didn't have the seaweed.

"Okay, I'm here. But that Octoling is still following me."

"Good. Now move to the middle of the area," she continued.

"What? Why?"

"Trust me. Just go!"

I groaned and took off for the middle of the area. While going, I stopped for a second and realized that I wasn't unarmed. (How could I forget...?) I shot my ink at the red-tentacle Octolings and splatted them quickly.

"If they're that easy to splat, why don't I fire at the one behind me?" I thought. I tried it out, but apparently, this Octoling was a lot smarter than her partners. She dodged it by diving into her ink and swam somewhere else. I still pressed on until I got to the middle of the area. However, I was ambushed by that same Octoling as she appeared directly in front of me from the ink.

"Okay, Agent 2, I'm here...do whatever you need to do. And I suggest doing it quickly!" I said frantically. The Octoling was about half a second away from splatting me when...SPLASH! She got covered in yellow ink. She then dove back into her ink and swam away. "Okay, what just happened?"

"Dang it. That one's too fast," Marie said.

I looked up and saw her wave her charger from the top of a raised circular platform.

"Thanks for the help," I said.

"No problem. But you have a shooter. Why didn't you just splat her?"

"I-I can't think that fast under pressure! She was too fast!"

"Sure..." She was totally unconvinced. "But never fear, for the queen of chargers is here to help!"

"But the queen of rollers needs help!" I heard Callie say in my headset. "There's way too many of these guys here!"

"Where are you, Agent 1?" I asked.

"Other side of the stage, but I'm coming your way!"

Marie and I saw her running full tilt with her roller and still trying to splat the other Octolings. I counted at least ten of them, but two of them stuck out. One of them was the Octoling that was chasing me, and she came in my direction. (Man, she was determined to splat me.)

The other one really caught my eye for one reason. This particular Octoling was the only _male_ one in the group. I could tell from his hair. His tentacles were curly but shorter and dark red like the others. Otherwise, he wore the same uniform as the others. He stood away from most of the action and kept clutching his head as if he were having a headache. Then he started attacking.

Long story short, Callie and I battled the Octolings up-close while Marie sniped them from above. Only four were left including the same two Octolings. The black-tentacle Octoling growled at me and Callie and began attacking us more viciously.

"Leave the others to me," Marie said. "That one seems to be targeting you, Agent 3."

"Ya think? But why me?!" I said as Callie pulled me away. The Elite Octoling (I needed to distinguish her somehow) followed us along with the male one.

"How do we lose these guys?!" Callie asked as we swam away.

"I don't know," I said as a bomb flew overhead and exploded on the ground. Right at this time, Callie ran out of ink as she was crossing the ink puddle and got stuck in it.

"Seriously?! How did I run out of ink so fast?" She looked back and shrieked. "OH, NO! My ink tank is cracked! How'd that happen?!"

"Did you get hit in the back or something when you got ambushed?"

"No...oh, wait, now, I remember...I fell on my back because I was trying to get away from them!"

By now, the Elite Octoling and male Octoling were catching up to us. I came up with a quick plan.

"Agent 1, stay right there. I got an idea."

"I'm stuck! I can't go anywhere! Don't leave me!"

"You know I would never do that." I sprayed ink all around her and hid in it near a wall. The Octolings came up to Callie. I originally planned to splat them once they got closer. But what happened next shocked me so much that I almost forgot the plan entirely.

"Where...is...he?!" the Elite Octoling growled menacingly. I didn't know she could talk, too! And judging by the look of terror on her face, Callie didn't either.

"I-I d-don't know w-what you m-mean..."Callie stuttered fearfully. The Elite Octoling silently commanded the male one to aim his shooter at her. He did, but his hand shook like he was resisting to pull it up.

"You have ten seconds to tell me...or else..." the Elite Octoling continued. "Ten...nine..."

Callie gulped but remained silent as she counted down. The male one made a fist out of his free hand.

"Don't...make...me...do...this...!" he struggled to say. "Please...!"

"You don't have a choice."

"He...is...not...gonna...control me..." He lowered his shooter with his other hand. "And...neither...are you...! The Elite Octoling furiously hit him in the face, and he fell out cold dropping his shooter. This lady is cold-blooded!

"IF YOU WON'T, I WILL!" She took her shooter and aimed at Callie. "THREE...TWO..."

"ONE!" I yelled jumping out of the ink behind Callie. "Looking for me?"

"I have you now!" She aimed at me.

I yelped as I scrambled to throw a Splat Bomb to her; and, for some reason, when I did, she _caught_ it! It began beeping quickly.

"Aw, crud," she said flatly before the bomb exploded and splatted her.

Callie and I breathed heavily.

"Thank Zapfish that worked," I sighed as I got Callie out of the Octo ink. "See? Told you I'd never leave you."

Callie stared at me with wide eyes. "Did you really just use me as bait?"

"Uh...maybe...unintentionally?" She glared at me with hands on her hips. "Yes. Sorry, I didn't explain my plan first."

She swiftly but lightly hit my arm.

"Ow...I deserved that..." I said while rubbing my arm.

"Thanks for saving me and all, but let me know what the plan is before you go through with it next time, would ya?" I nodded. "So, what do we do about him?" She pointed to the unconscious Octoling.

"Let's take him to the Cap'n. Maybe this guy could give us some answers."

"Sounds good."

"Uh, Agent 1? We're not gonna tell him about how I saved you from that Octoling girl, right?"

"Ha! Nooo way! He'd be so mad at you!"

"Phew. Thank you."

"You owe me now. You realize that?" She grinned and winked at me which made my face burn again.

"I know..."

We took off the Octoling's ink tank and took away his shooter. Callie called Marie to help us take him to the Cap'n's shack.

Who knows? Maybe there's more info we can get out of this guy.

* * *

 _ **AN**_ _ **:**_ **I finally got to the Octolings in this story. And as you can tell at least one is gonna play a big part. How exactly? Just wait and see. (Now I just need to think of a good name for him...)**

 **Review if you like and I hope to see more artwork later.**

 **[Special thanks to Ender126 for the picture. I might use that for something if I have your permission.]**

 **By the time I've posted this chapter, it will be close to Christmas. So this chapter is my gift to all of you! Thank you so much for reading. See you in the next chapter!**

 **And to everybody...** ** _Happy Holidays!_**


	13. Octo-Intel

_**AN**_ _ **: YES!**_ **I MADE IT BACK AGAIN! Hope you all enjoy this next chapter.**

* * *

Splatoon: Agent 3 Begins

Chapter 12: Octo-Intel

"Man, this guy is heavier than he looks!" Callie groaned as the three of us carried the unconscious Octoling. "Can't we just hide him somewhere and pick him up later?"

"Agent 3 and I are doing most of the carrying!" Marie snapped. (She was right. All Callie was doing was supporting his head.) "And, no. What if someone finds him, and he wakes up? Who knows what he might do?"

"As long as we get him to an entrance to the valley unseen," I said, "I honestly don't care where we put him down..."

It was starting to get really dark, and one would think that there wouldn't be as many people out by now. Well, apparently, not in Inkopolis because there were still people out walking around. We had to sneak by so many people and hide the Octoling somehow.

"Ugh, why are there so many people out tonight?" I asked.

"Inkopolis is a very busy city during the day _and_ night," Callie explained. "It's filled with early birds who do a lot during the day like me."

"And it has night owls like me," Marie added, "who usually stay up and or even go out with friends somewhere. And then sleep all day."

"I'd have to check out the city at night sometime," I said. "I'm a bit of night owl myself."

Marie flashed a grin at Callie who rolled her eyes.

"Let me guess, that was a theme for that Splatfest thing, wasn't it?"

"It was the one that led to that argument we had earlier," Marie said. "Good to know that you'd be on my team if you were in it."

"Uh...I guess I would've..." (Although, I might say that I'm also an early bird sometimes.)

"Whatever," I heard Callie sigh. "Are we at the entrance yet?"

"Ahoy there, squiddos!" a familiar voice called from an alley.

"Gramps?" Callie said. "Is that you?"

"Aye, Agent 1," the Cap'n said poking his head from another manhole grate. "Glad I found ya."

As we brought the Octoling to the grate, the Cap'n's eyes grew wider. (The guy had big eyes already so that was kinda strange for me to see.)

"You buckos weren't squidding around, were ya?" he said in amazement. "Ye really did a number on this Octoling."

"Well, to be honest, we didn't-hold on, he's actually called an Octoling?" I said. "I thought I just made up that name."

"Nope. That's actually what this lad is. Why'd ye bring him again?"

"We think that maybe he could give us some info on what happened to the Great Zapfish," Marie explained.

"What does he know?"

"We don't know, but can we _please_ hurry and take to the valley already?! My arms are gonna fall off!"

The Cap'n took the Octoling's leg and flicked the back of his ankle with his finger. Suddenly, he changed into a small octopus. The Squid Sisters and I stared at him in amazement and disbelief.

"H-How d-did...w-what...?" we all stammered.

"Lots of Inklings and Octolings have this reflex. What's it for I couldn't tell ya. But it be convenient." He then took the Octoling and went back down to go to the valley.

"He's gotta teach us that..." Marie said. We all changed to our squid forms and followed him.

* * *

Once we got to Octo Valley, we saw the Cap'n quickly put the Octoling in a chair.

"The boy's waking up!" he told us. "Quick! Help me tie him up!"

We all scrambled to find something to tie him up.

"We don't have any rope!" I exclaimed.

"There's gotta be something we can use to restrain him..." Marie said. She then froze and stared at Callie. Callie noticed her and shifted uncomfortably.

"Uh...what are you looking at...?" she said uneasily.

"Let down your hair."

"What?!" The idea slowly dawned on all of us. "Oh...no...there's _no_ way that I'm using my tentacles as make-shift rope!"

"Come on. We don't have any real rope. Besides, yours are the longest!"

"But I don't wanna..."

"Would you rather hope that he's friendly?" I asked.

The Octoling changed to his humanoid form. Callie then panicked, took off her beanie, and untied her hair tentacle bow. She then quickly tied her tentacles around the Octoling and the chair so that way he was stuck to it.

"I honestly can't believe that worked..." I said.

"I can," Marie said. "You know what it's like to be hugged by her when she's really happy. He's definitely not going anywhere."

"True."

"But right now, I'm _not_ happy about this at all!" Callie said as she sat down behind the chair pouting.

The Octoling finally stirred awake.

"Oh, my head...what happened?" he groaned. He then looked at us and tried to get up. "H-Hey! What's going on?! Where am I?!"

"Calm down, bucko!" the Cap'n said.

"Inklings?! W-Who are you people?" he asked nervously.

"That's none of your business," Marie said. "And we'll be asking the questions here."

"Starting with this," I said. "What's your name?"

"Really? That's your first question...?"

"I don't need your extra sass, lady..." I thought in response. (I knew better than to say that out loud.) I could tell that the Octoling really didn't want to say anything, but I guess that he figured he had no other choice.

"O-Octave..." he said timidly. "M-My name's Octave..."

"Octave, huh? Okay, Octave, what were you and those other Octolings doing at Blackbelly Skatepark?"

"W-We had orders to i-invade your city. That was the first place he ordered us to go."

"He?"

"Our leader."

"Who is your leader?"

"I-I don't know who he is actually..."

"You don't even know who you're working for?!" Callie said in surprise. When she spoke up, Octave turned to see her and was startled to see her tentacles around him.

"Seems a little far-fetched..." Marie said with doubt in her voice. "Are you hiding something?"

"N-No! I'm being honest!" he continued. His goggles sparked, and he winced in pain. "Can one of you guys get these stupid things off me?! They're giving me a headache."

I began to do that, but the others told me to wait.

"What's up with those goggles anyway?" Marie asked. "They don't look like any that I've seen before."

"These aren't just goggles...they have earbuds in them, too..."

"Really...?" I said. I carefully took off his goggles revealing two bright green eyes with fuchsia circles around them (although one was slightly swollen most likely from that Elite Octoling hitting him). Sure enough, when I took them off, two earbuds popped out of his ears.

"Okay...that's an...interesting design for goggles," I said. "What were you doing? Listening to music?"

"Sorta...I don't remember...but I do remember hating the music that was playing."

"This doesn't add up," the Cap'n said. "Why listen to music ye hate in the middle of a battle?"

"Look, I don't remember, okay?"

"Well, what _do_ you remember?" Callie said impatiently.

"All I remember is getting taken into a big dark room with several other people. The next thing I knew, I was told to put on those goggles and earbuds by some loud and really annoying male voice; and right as I did, I lost control of my body when I heard the music. And that voice kept telling me to stop resisting the beat. He commanded me to go attack Inkopolis. But I still kept resisting the music even when I got out there."

"Why?" we all asked.

"It just...didn't feel right...and that voice...for some reason it sounded so familiar..."

"How familiar?"

"As if I should know who it is, but I just can't put a tentacle on it..."

The rest of us thought about Octave's words. Then the Cap'n asked a more prominent question.

"Where's the Great Zapfish that ye and the other Octarians stole from our city?"

"Our leader probably has it," Octave said. "He told us to make sure no Inklings can get to it or him."

"Well, you aren't gonna stop us," Callie said, "and neither is your leader!"

"That's right!" Marie agreed. "We'll keep searching until we find it and bring it back!"

"Hold on a second," I said. "There's one thing that I really want to know, Octave."

"What?" he asked.

"Why are telling us all of this willingly? Aren't you working for that guy?"

"I was forced to work for him. I don't want to be a part in whatever he's up to."

"You must think we're pretty dumb if you expect us to believe that," Marie said. "For all we know, you could've been lying this whole time."

"No! I'm serious! Whatever this guy is doing must be bad, and I don't want to be a part of it."

"All those who don't believe him, say 'Aye'," Callie said. "Aye."

"Aye," Marie and the Cap'n said. Then they looked at me expecting me to agree. But I could tell by looking at his pleading eyes that Octave really didn't want any part in all of this. I thought about how he behaved at the skatepark.

"Actually," I started. "I think he's telling the truth..."

"What?!" they all said in shock.

"Hear me out. During that invasion at Blackbelly Skatepark, I saw Octave trying his best to not follow anyone's orders, and I saw his struggle. Even when he had an open opportunity to splat us, he still forced himself not to. That Elite Octoling even hit him for disobeying her and the leader."

"Come on, Agent 3. You can't be serious," Marie said.

"You weren't there, but I saw it with my own eyes. And, Agent 1, you should know, too. Remember what happened?"

Callie became silent.

"Thank you..." Octave said.

"Not so fast. That doesn't mean we _fully_ trust you or your words," I continued. "I'm just saying that you seem different from the other Octolings."

"So, what now?" Marie asked. "We can't just let him go."

"I'll stay here," he said. "I'm free from that guy's control, so I'll just hang out here. I'll give anymore information if you need it."

"What more do ye know?" the Cap'n asked.

"Well, I did hear someone say something about 'reviving the Octonozzle', but I have no clue what that is."

"The Octonozzle is another one of the Great Octoweapons!"

"Oh, yeah! Now I remember! They're about to reactivate it. You'll need to stop it quick!"

"Sounds like you have a job to do, Agent 3," Callie said.

"Great...this sounds like it'll fun..." I groaned in dread.

"I'll go with you, if you like?" Marie offered. "Somebody's gotta watch your back in case things get crazy."

"Thanks, Agent 2." I turned to Callie and the Cap'n. "In the meantime, can you two try jogging Octave's memory? We'll need all the info we can get out of him."

"Oh ho ho! I like that take charge attitude ye got, bucko. We'll do our best. Good luck."

"See ya, guys," Callie said with a wave. "And be careful."

"We will," Marie said as we left. While we went out, it was still dark even with a full moon tonight. "So, care to tell me where this Octonozzle thing is?"

"No idea," I confessed. "But the last time I fought one of those things, I went into a big kettle with a purple pillow under it."

She looked at me skeptically.

"Okay, now that I say it out loud, it does sound weird...but that's what it looked like to me. Help me look for one."

"How about over on that big platform? Is that it?" She pointed to what looked like a kettle.

"I think so. Good eye."

We made our way over to the top of the platform, and there was the big kettle. And it was open already.

"I wonder why this is open already..." I said.

"Maybe someone forgot to close it while they were working in it?" Marie guessed. We shrugged it off and dove in.

* * *

Once we landed on a respawn point with yellow ink, we looked around to see that we were in another arena. It was a lot more grassy than the last one. In the distance we saw a big machine of some kind in the center covered in a lot of algae. With a launchpad right in front of us, we went into it and squid-jumped to the machine. As soon as we landed, the loud booming voice of (whom we assumed was) the Octarian leader filled the air with sinister laughter.

"Ooh..." I shivered. "Not gonna lie, that laugh sends chills up my spine." As soon as I said that, I caught how stupid that sounded. "Never mind, I meant-"

"Don't worry, I get what you mean..." she assured. "That laugh is creepy..."

"Well, well, look who's back for a second course of Octo ink! And this time he's brought a friend!" the leader bellowed.

"Oh, laugh it up, whoever you are! We're not afraid of you!" Marie yelled back.

"You ought to be! But right now, I'm busy! So instead, I'll leave you two at the nonexistent mercy of Great Octoweapon Number 2: THE DREADED OCTONOZZLE!"

Just then, a tentacle on top of machine grabbed another zapfish making the machine spark to life. Honestly, I thought the Octostomp looked weird, but the Octonozzle looked weirder. It had two giant yellow eyes with large black pupils, a lot of algae and seaweed hanging from it, and a big pipe on its face that curved downward and dripped with ink. (The pipe made it look like it had a nose.) It was made up of two layers, but the top layer looked like its "head". It also had little legs with purple sneakers on it, but the entire thing looked like it was stuck to the ground.

"Well, this shouldn't be too hard," Marie said.

"Why did you say that...?" I groaned as I facepalmed.

The Octonozzle began shooting out big globs of ink from its "nose" and kicking them toward us. We both laid down ink and swam behind a (surprisingly convenient) wall.

"What do we do?" Marie asked.

"We need to find its weakness," I explained. "Once we expose the tentacle on top, we'll need to find a way to splat it."

"Does a weakness look like a pink tentacle thing sticking out of a hole?"

"What?"

"Look at that. On its side." She pointed to a small pink round portion of a tentacle sticking out from the side of the robot.

"Good eye...again!"

"Hey, that's what good charger users need. How do we get to it?"

"Hmm...try hitting it from here with your charger." She tried, but the shot came up short making a straight line of ink on the ground.

"It's too far. It won't reach. I'll need to get closer."

"Alright, new plan. I'll take out the small target while you use your charger to ink a path for me to swim around it."

"Good idea! I got your back."

We gathered ourselves and bolted for the Octonozzle, and we managed to avoid the ink that came out of the nozzle. I splatted the tentacle projection on the side and the machine got stunned. The tentacle appeared on top of it, but it was harder to reach than I thought. There was a moat of Octarian ink around the machine so I had to jump over it to get on top. I splatted the tentacle and squid-jumped away. Marie followed my lead, and we ended up back at our hiding spot. We saw it gain a third layer and heard it make a mechanical roar sound followed by what we guessed was a sneeze.

"Bless you!" we yelled to it. The Octonozzle then made a groaning noise that I could've sworn sounded like "Thank you!"

"Okay, now what?" Marie said.

"Run, ink, splat, repeat," I said. "Each time we splat the tentacle, it'll keep getting harder to hit."

We ran the same plan again, but the Octonozzle was spreading more blobs of ink than usual. Somehow, once we got rid of the smaller weak points, Marie hit the main tentacle. We squid-jumped back to the hiding spot.

"I thought you couldn't reach that far with your charger," I said.

"Yeah, but I knew I could if I was closer," she said. "But now there are a lot of weak points to bring it down. It might take a while to get it."

"Well, at least it can't move too fast."

"Especially with the two of us against it!"

You know what, I think by now you get the idea of how the rest of the battle went. We splatted the tentacle, and the Octonozzle started shaking.

"Woohoo!" Marie cheered. "We did it!"

"Yeah, but we might want to get somewhere safe because this thing's gonna blow!" I said. We squid-jumped back to our spot and heard the Octonozzle explode. When we looked at where it was, the captured zapfish was sitting there waiting to be picked up. "Wow! Agent 2, you were right! That was easy for once!"

"See? What did I tell you? Now, let's get that zapfish and get going. I'm tired..."

"What else is new? But now that you mention it, I'm actually kinda tired, too..."

We grabbed the zapfish and went back to the surface. Hopefully, nothing else will come up...

Once we got back up, Callie greeted us. And she looked gravely serious.

"I don't like that look on your face..." I said nervously. "What's wrong?"

"Well..." she started uneasily. "We got more info, but I don't think you'll like it too much..."

"How bad can it be? On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst."

"How about...t-twenty...if not that, then...higher...?"

The air around all of us grew silent and cold.

...Okay, now that I think about it, I realize that I need to learn to not say things like that...

* * *

 _ **AN**_ _ **:**_ **And** **that's it for this chapter. What's gonna happen next? Well, I have some unfortunate news. I won't be able to write another chapter for a while because school is about to start up for me again. So, once again, this might be the last chapter for a while until I find more free time (and I feel like writing). Sorry!**

 **But I have NOT given up on this story. I can't estimate when I'll write and post the next chapter, but it will come out soon.**

 **Review if you want. I hope you all enjoyed this story so far. Thank you all for reading, and I wish all of you a _Happy New Year!_**

 **(Who knows? I might put up the next chapter after _Splatoon_ on the Nintendo Switch gets officially announced. I really hope I'll be able to get that when its' released...)**


	14. Unexpected Surprises

_**AN:**_ **I'M BACK! And I'm here with the next chapter! Hope you all enjoy it!**

* * *

Splatoon: Agent 3 Begins

Chapter 13: Unexpected Surprises

Once we got to Cap'n Cuttlefish's shack, we saw the Cap'n standing near Octave, who was sitting in the same chair we put him in, waiting for us. He wasn't tied to it now, but he didn't even look like he was trying to escape. He then explained some news to us that left me and Marie utterly shocked.

"THEY'RE GONNA WHAT?!" we yelled.

"I said," Octave repeated, "if you don't find some way to find all of those zapfish, destroy the Octoweapons, and defeat our leader, he's gonna lead a full-scale invasion on your city…and most likely destroy all of you in the process."

"Well, there's a happy thought…" I groaned. "Don't you guys ever take a break?"

"It _is_ late," the Cap'n said. "And I haven't picked up anymore Octarian activity. Maybe they stopped for the night."

"I hope so…" Marie yawned. "I'm exhausted…"

"I think it'll be safe for you kids to get home and get some rest."

"Sounds good to us," Callie said. "Oh, wait, what about Octave? We can't just leave him here alone."

"And we can't take him to Inkopolis," I added. "He might get too much attention."

"He said he'll stay here," the Cap'n said. "With me here watching him, there shouldn't be any problems."

"Um, glad you're up for watching him, Cap'n," Marie said, "but wouldn't it be better if someone else stayed with you to watch him?"

"What? Ye don't think I can do it? Why, back in my day…"

The Cap'n then went on a small rant about how many tougher things he dealt with back when he was younger.

Marie sighed. "Three…two…one…" The Cap'n instantly fell asleep resting on his cane. "…and that's why someone else should be here…"

The girls carefully walked him over to his bed and gently laid him down on it. They gave him a quick kiss on his forehead and came back out.

"So I guess I have to stay and watch Octave?" I said.

"How old do you guys think I am that you think that I need watching?" Octave retorted.

"We're just making sure you don't run off or something."

"Really? You still don't trust me?"

"And we're back to ignoring you. Agent 1, did you learn anything new?"

"Well," Callie said. "I learned that long tentacles can be used as decent rope."

"New about the situation…" Marie said while rolling her eyes.

"Oh…then, no. His memory's still kinda fuzzy."

"Hey, I have an idea," Octave said. "Why don't you all just take shifts watching me?"

"That's…not a bad idea, actually…" I said. By this time, I might've been too tired to care if he was planning something or not.

"I'll take first shift," Callie offered. "I'm not really tired, anyway."

"Thanks, Agent 1."

Marie had gone to a nearby closet and brought out two big stuffed toys that look like baby zapfish, but each one had a hat that looked like the Cap'n's. She tossed me one.

"These things are so soft. We can use them as pillows," she explained.

She lied down and instantly fell asleep with the toy under her head. I took out my contacts, put them in the container they came in, and set them aside. Octave had taken notice.

"So, he was right…" he mumbled.

"What?" I asked.

"Our leader gave us an order to quickly splat an Inkling boy with red eyes. When we saw one with blue eyes, we thought that he mixed up the colors for some reason. Or there was another agent that looks like him."

"That one black-tentacled Octoling girl wasn't fooled, though…"

"Black-tentacles…? Oh…you meant her…"

"You know her?" Callie asked.

Octave shifted uncomfortably. "Y-Yeah…I know her pretty well. And if I were you, Agent 3, I would try to avoid her at all costs. She can be vicious."

"I know," I said. "She even hit you, too. By the way, not that I particularly care, but, are you okay after that?"

"I'm fine. I've been hit harder by her before. But thanks for asking anyway."

"Hopefully, I won't see her again."

"Did I mention that once she has a target, she will persistently try to splat them?"

"Thanks for the tip…" I said bitterly and went down to fall asleep. "Good night…"

I tried falling asleep, but I couldn't really sleep well. I managed to sleep for about an hour before Callie woke me up.

"Hey, you up?" she whispered.

"I couldn't _get_ to sleep…." I said groggily. "Ready to switch?"

She nodded and yawned. I got up and handed her the toy and put my contacts back on, and she sat down where I was sleeping.

Before she went down to fall asleep, she shot back up to her feet.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" she said.

She then did the one thing that I believe would make every other Inkling boy in the city literally turn green with envy.

She came over to me and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. (No, seriously, I'm not joking.)

After she did, I felt myself blush so much that I'm pretty certain that I turned pure red. I tried to ask why she did that, but I'd lost my voice (and any words that I could make with it).

"That was for saving me," she explained with a sweet smile. I also noticed that she was slightly blushing, too. "Thank you…"

I tried to say something, but all that really managed to come out was a high-pitched "Woomy!" I quickly covered my mouth.

"WHY DO I KEEP DOING THAT?!" I screamed in my head.

Callie giggled and went back to lie down near to Marie.

"Good night," she said quietly.

I nodded shakily. I felt my cheek and sighed heavily. Then I heard Octave laughing quietly.

"What's up with you?" I asked while clearing my throat. (It was slightly high-pitched now...man, that's embarrassing...)

"Nothing…it's just…" Octave said. "Heh…That pink girl is really nice, isn't she?"

"Yeah…she's super nice…"

"And very pretty."

"Yeah..." It took me a minute to realize what he said. "Wait, what?!"

"Is she your girlfriend or something?"

Of all things to hear from him, that was _so_ unexpected.

"Girlfriend?! Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, s-she's not my g-girlfriend! She's just a friend!"

"A friend…that kisses you?"

"Well, she's…passionate…"

"Uh-huh…seems legit…so, she's available?"

"I don't know, dude…maybe? Wait…why do you ask?"

"No reason." He smirked as he got up and walked outside.

"Hey, hold on. Where are you going?"

"I'm just going out for some air. Can you blame me? I've been cooped up in here the whole time."

"Good point." I didn't like it, but it was a good point. "Alright, I'm coming out to keep an eye on you…and also because I kinda need to cool my burning face..."

"HA! I knew it! You totally like her!"

"N-No! I-I don't! W-We're just f-friends! What makes you think I do, anyway?"

"I'm just judging from the way you saved her from Octavia."

"This is getting uncomfortable," I thought. "I need to change the subject fast."

We walked outside a little ways from the shack.

"So, that's her name...Octavia?" I asked.

"Yup."

"Well, at least you remember her."

"I guess you can say she's 'unforgettable'. But I honestly kinda wish I did forget her."

"What's she like, anyway? Besides vicious…"

"She's hard to describe. She can get crazy and violent…especially if she's mad...which happens a lot since she has a bit of a short temper. She also sometimes tries sounding sweet and innocent, but it's just hiding her underlying evil nature."

"Okay, that's…disturbing. How do you know her exactly?"

Octave's look made it obvious that he didn't wanna talk about it. Clearly, he knows her, but he's hiding something.

"You don't have to tell me, but I'll find out eventually…"

"Okay," Octave said while shrugging. "But back to what I said about the pink girl. Agent 1, right?"

(Darn it! So close!) "Y-Yeah?"

"I recognized her from that first invasion. While you were sleeping, she told me how happy she felt after you saved her. She also told me that you said that you'd never leave her. Did you actually mean that?"

"What does it matter to you?"

"It doesn't. But I'm bored. And I honestly don't have any more info to give you."

I understood that now he was just trying to have someone to talk to. I sighed. "Well, I couldn't just leave her to get splatted."

"Yeah. You know, she's really thankful to you for saving her. She wanted to find a way to repay you. And she sure did!"

" _You_ knew she would do that?!"

"Not really. But trust me, it was hilarious to see you turn that red."

Now, this guy was getting on my nerves.

"Okay. Octave, can we _please_ stop talking about-?"

"WATCH OUT!" he yelled as he tackled me. Several shots of ink flew over us.

"W-What was that?!" I asked nervously as we got up.

"Oh, no…" Octave said while fearfully looking behind me. I turned around and a wave of fear came over me when I saw Octavia aiming her shooter directly at me.

"We meet again, Agent 3," she said with a menacingly sweet tone. "How have you been?"

"U-Uh…heh, heh…u-um…g-g-good…?" I chuckled nervously. (Wow, Octave was right. That is deceptively sweet.) "H-How about y-you?"

"Oh, great. Real great. I've been busy recuperating from the recent splatting you gave me. And trying to find ways of bringing Octave back to our leader. Which I plan to do right now."

"Go away, Octavia! I don't wanna go back!" Octave yelled.

"Looks like someone's lost his goggles."

"Uh, _YEAH_! Maybe because you hit me in the face and broke them?! Thanks for that, by the way!"

"Now, Octave, is that any way treat your big sis? I was just showing you some tough love..."

"Did she say ' _BIG_ _SIS'?!"_ I shouted internally. That came out of nowhere!

"I doubt that there was any love in that..." I said.

"So, are you coming or do I have to force you?" Octavia said. I could tell that she was steadily getting angry.

"You're gonna have to splat me first!" Octave shouted.

"WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT, YOU IDIOT?!" I screamed in my thoughts.

Octavia bared her fanged teeth and snarled.

" _SUIT YOURSELF_!" she yelled as her shooter turned into a huge bazooka-like weapon. She aimed at us, and I heard her weapon charge up.

"Octave," I said bluntly while staring at her.

"Yes?" he said while also staring at her.

"You know that we don't have any weapons to fight back with, right?"

We looked at each other, and his look shifted from slightly confident to fearful as he saw that I didn't have one.

"Oh...carp..." we whimpered as we slowly looked back at her.

It was at this moment that the two of us realized this: WE ARE SO SUNK!

* * *

 _ **AN:**_ **Wow, things escalated quickly. Will Finley and Octave get out of this one with their tentacles intact? Find out in the next chapter which will come out soon.**

 **Hope you all liked this chapter!** **See ya next time!**


	15. The Enemy of My Enemy is an Octopus

_**AN:**_ **Hey, everyone! Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Review if you want.**

* * *

Splatoon: Agent 3 Begins

Chapter 14: The Enemy of my Enemy is an Octopus

Octave and I took off running. We had no idea where we were gonna go; we just wanted to get out of Octavia's line of fire. (Ironically, the shot that she fired from that weapon did leave a straight line of ink...)

"You're not getting away that easily!" Octavia shouted as she continued shooting large ink tornadoes at us. Well, more specifically, _me_!

"Aw, come on!" I said while dodging them. "You can't seriously still be upset after I splat you just _one_ time!"

"She's an elite Octoling for a reason, dude!" Octave yelled. "You're the first person to actually splat her!"

"You aren't helping!"

The two of us ran to an area in Octo Valley that kinda looked like a big skatepark. We hid behind a big wall and narrowly avoided being hit by two Splat Bombs.

"Got any ideas?" I asked him while we caught our breath.

"Not really..." he confessed.

"Oh, boy..."

"But now I think I'm getting one. Let's think about this for sec. It's me that she really wants, right?"

"Yeah..."

"So all she needs to do is splat you, capture me, and she'll be gone."

"...Where are you going with this?"

"She's probably gonna splat you first because you might keep her from getting to me. So, what'll happen if she does?"

"I'm splatted and you're captured?"

"Exactly, but you'll just respawn. I saw a respawn point near the shack."

"You're losing me, Octave! Seriously, where are you going with this?!"

"I'm thinking 'what if she _thinks_ that she did it for good?'"

"Okay, now, I think I see where this is going. I'm gonna fake my own splatting, aren't I?"

Octave smiled and nodded. We went over the plan and agreed that there was a slim chance that it'll work. We waited for Octavia to come within earshot to put it into action.

"Now, where are those two...?" we heard her say. We looked over and saw that she now had a regular shooter. That giant weapon she had must've been temporary.

Octave and I looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

"Oh, man, I hope she doesn't find us!" I said loudly while trying to sound as convincing as possible (Side note: No, I can't act. And I didn't care how unconvincing it sounded).

"She'll never find us behind this giant wall!" Octave shouted (No, he can't act either...).

We then heard her come toward us while snickering. She took the bait...somehow...

"This'll be way too easy..." she said.

"Maybe I'll be safer over there!" I said.

"Maybe you're right. Let's go before she finds us!" Octave agreed. I jogged out from the wall.

"HA!" Octavia shouted. "Wrong move, Inkling!" She fired ink at me, and I took off running. She swam in her ink and came up in front of me. With a wicked grin, she shot ink at me, and this time it actually hit me. It was too much for me to handle, and soon, my body went numb, and everything went dark. I felt really light as if I was floating.

I then realized that for the first time, I experienced what it was like to be splatted...

After a few seconds, I felt the cool sensation of ink all around me. I was in squid form in the respawn point near the shack. I changed back to my human form, stood up, and shook my head.

"That was...weird..." I said with a shudder. "Not sure if I like that too much..."

I hurried into the shack and got my ink tank and Hero Shot. I then heard loud snoring. I turned and saw that Callie, Marie, and the Cap'n were still sleeping, and instantly, I got jealous because I was very tired. (By the way, don't ask me who was snoring because I swore to keep it a secret, but I'll tell you that it _wasn't_ the Cap'n...)

"You guys owe me so much..." I thought. Before I left, I saw a can with a picture of a weapon sitting on a shelf. The name "Inkzooka" was on the side of it. It looked like the same weapon Octavia used. My instincts told me to grab the can, and I did. I went back outside and tried to find Octave.

When I finally saw him, he was swimming around in Octavia's ink trying to out-maneuver her. Eventually, Octavia sank into her ink and rocketed toward him. She grabbed him and jumped out of the ink. The two of them tumbled onto the ground and reverted to their human forms with Octavia pinning him down.

"Now, I've got you!" Octavia said triumphantly. "You're coming with me."

"I don't wanna go back!" Octave said defiantly. "This whole conflict is ridiculous! There's gotta be a better way to-"

"Octave, we already told you , there _isn't_ another way! Do I need to remind you of what the Inklings did to us? Now, it's our turn to strike back."

"Both of our races were in the wrong back then! We could've found a way to get along..."

"Do you really think that they would've gone with it? Wake up, stupid! They're only gonna care for themselves and leave us to rot!"

"That's not true! Some of them actually do care for us!"

"How would _you_ know?"

"When I got captured, those Inkling agents never splatted me. Isn't that enough proof?"

"They just never had the chance to do it yet..." Octavia got up holding Octave's arms. "I'm taking you home, now!"

As Octave struggled to get free, I climbed to the top of a big platform. When I got up there, he looked up long enough for our eyes to meet. I gave him a thumbs up, and I saw a small smirk come across his face.

"Hey, Octavia!" I called out. She looked up in surprise. "Did you miss me?"

"N-No..." she stuttered in shock. "H-How...?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you. Now, let Octave go, and I'll be on my way..."

"Not a chance!" she yelled as she fired her shooter at me. "He's coming with me!"

"Wow, he's right! You are persistent..." I said as I dodged her fire. Octave changed to his octopus form and pulled himself from his sister's grip. I squid-jumped from the platform; he launched in the same direction I was going. When we landed, we found ourselves cornered. Octavia looked at us and scowled.

She and I stared each other down. By now, my adrenaline was pumping, and my mind was racing. I was honestly a little scared of what was gonna happen in a few seconds, but I wasn't gonna let her know about it.

"You're...so...SPLATTED!" Octavia yelled fiercely as she charged toward us. I felt time slow down, and in that moment, I remembered the can that I found in the shack. I pulled it from my pocket and opened it. Inside of it was a small plug which I instinctively plugged it into my Hero Shot. It beeped while a button on the side of it glowed red. Instantly, my brain shouted, "PRESS IT!"

I did, and my Hero Shot transformed into what I now assumed was called an Inkzooka. It was surprisingly heavier than I thought, and I almost dropped it. Octave helped me hold it up, and I took aim. We heard the thing charge up, and once we knew it was ready, prepared to fire it. By then, Octavia was about two feet from us.

"FIRE!" Octave and I yelled in unison. I pulled the weapon's trigger and it fired a large blast of ink at her. The force of the weapon's fire was so strong that it pushed Octave and me backwards, and we both fell onto the ground. I hit my head on the ground hard, and my vision got blurry. I heard the faint but devastating sound of Octavia screaming at being splatted again. She was finally gone.

"We did it!" Octave cheered while breathing heavily. "We took her out!"

"Yeah..." I said while breathing heavily. "We did... And I gotta say, I probably couldn't have done it without you, Octave. Thanks."

"You literally took a hit for me to keep me from getting caught. It was part of my plan, and you still went through with it. I should be thanking you, Agent 3."

"This ought to prove that Inklings and Octolings _can_ work together."

"You heard about that?"

"Every word..."

We both got silent.

"You're right, you know?" I said to break the silence.

"About...?"

"The whole 'Inkling agents not splatting you' thing. That didn't even cross our minds. We probably would've kept you safe. Or, at best, let you go."

"Yeah. By the way, thanks for sticking up for me."

"For what?"

"You know, trying to convince your friends that I didn't want to hurt them, and I was telling the truth. You were the only one who did."

"I saw your will fighting against your leader's control. It looked real enough to me."

"Thanks." He extended a hand out. I gladly shook it. As I did, I thought about something serious. If we're on good terms now, he kinda deserves to know who I am. I just hoped that this wouldn't backfire on me.

"So...we're friends now?" I said.

"Yeah. I'd say we are."

"Well, if we are, we'll need a proper introduction. In Octo Valley, I'm known as Agent 3, but my real name is Finley. But you can just call me Fin, though."

"Fin?"

"Yep. Nice to meet you, Octave."

"Nice to meet you, too, Fin. I mean, Agent 3." We chuckled as we helped each other to our feet. "We'd better get back to that shack. It's been a _long_ night..."

As I stood up, I began to feel lightheaded, and my vision got fuzzy.

"Agent 3? You alright...?" I heard him say.

Next thing I knew, everything went black, and the last thing I heard was Octave calling my name.

* * *

"Fin...!" I heard another voice say. "Fin...! Please, wake up...!"

Slowly, my vision cleared. I woke up to Callie gently shaking me and telling me to wake up.

"Hey..." I groaned weakly as I slowly sat up. "What did I miss...?"

She sighed with relief and hugged me tight.

"What a relief!" she said. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"I don't think 'okay' is the right word...how about 'alive'?"

"Good to see you're alive, then," Marie said waving while in a chair nearby. I then realized that I was back in the shack, and I was in the Cap'n's bedroom.

"Wait," I said. "How did I get in here?"

"We brought you in here," Callie explained. "Octave told us the whole story."

"Octave...?" I said. "W-Where is he?!"

"Cool your jets, man," he said while coming into the room with the Cap'n. "I'm right here."

I felt my head, and instantly, I felt a sharp pain run through it.

"Be careful," Callie warned. "You hit your head really hard on the ground. Lie back down."

I complied because my body refused to stay up anymore.

"Ye had us worried for a bit, bucko," the Cap'n said.

"You were out for a whole two days..." Marie said.

"TWO DAYS?!" I said. I calmed down after realizing that I probably needed the rest. "Makes sense, I guess. I was up almost all night, and to top that off, I got knocked unconscious."

"Well, either way, you can take it easy for now."

"Why?"

"As much as I hate the idea, Octave said that he'll help us from now on."

"What?"

He nodded in assurance.

"I thought you didn't want any part in this," I said.

"I don't, but I need to do something. I can't just sit around and do nothing. And if I know my leader, he's not gonna just listen to reason. So, we'll just have to make him."

"And the only way to do that is to keep getting those zapfish back," Callie said.

"So, Octave is gonna go on missions, too?" I asked.

"Aye, bucko," the Cap'n confirmed. "Allow me to introduce ye to our new temporary agent: Agent 4."

"Nice!"

"Yayer!" Callie cheered.

"Hooray..." Marie said flatly while rolling her eyes.

"She still doesn't trust me," Octave said. "Can you believe it?"

"Well, she can be a bit stubborn..." I said.

"I'm right here, you know!" Marie said loudly.

"Sorry..." we said.

"Anyway," Octave continued. "If it's okay with you guys, can I talk to him alone?"

"Sure," Callie said as she and the others left the room.

"Don't try anything funny," Marie said. "I'm still watching you..."

"I'll keep that in mind..." Octave said while grinning. That earned him a deadly glare from her as she left the room.

Once everyone left, Octave closed the door and looked at me with a serious expression.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I wanted to tell you something important about who's controlling the Octarians."

"Really? Do you remember who it is now?"

"I'm afraid so...his name is DJ Octavio..."

"DJ Octavio? So that's who it is." I paused for a second. "He's not really a DJ, is he?"

"Yes, but that's not the point..."

"What _is_ the point...?"

"The point is...that I know him very well..."

"...How?"

Octave became silent, hung his head, and sighed heavily.

"Promise not to tell the others this," he said lowly. "Please?"

That was unexpected. But I agreed anyway.

"I promise I won't. This'll be a secret between us only. You have my word."

"You truly promise?"

I crossed all three of my hearts. He looked at me with a confused expression.

"I've never broken a promise when I've done that," I explained. "You can trust me."

"Okay. Prepare yourself..."

He took a deep breath.

"'Octave' isn't my full name...it's-" he then mumbled something.

"What?"

"I said...it's really Octavio, all right? Specifically, it's...Octavio III..."

I was in utter shock when he told me this. In that moment, I figured it out.

"Y-You're...the Octarian leader's... _grandson_...?!" I said quietly.

Who would've thought that my newest friend is actually related to my newest enemy?

(...All right, to be honest, I should've seen something like that coming...)

* * *

 _ **AN:**_ **Was the ending too obvious or no? Be honest but not harsh, please. Anyway, with _Splatoon 2_ coming out in a few months, I figured that I should finish this story sometime soon. I seriously hope that I'll be able to tie in the sequel's story mode with mine. If not...oh, well. We'll see in July or a while later. Also I'm not even gonna bother trying to guess when the next chapter will come out. But I'll say it again: I haven't given up! All I can say is be on the lookout for the next chapter, and I'll see you guys then. **


	16. Relationships: Old, New, And Unexpected

_**AN:**_ **Hey, everybody! I'm back...again! Hope you'll enjoy this next chapter.**

* * *

Splatoon: Agent 3 Begins

Chapter 15: Relationships: Old, New, and Unexpected

By now, if you're wondering "What was Finley thinking when Octave revealed his secret?", I was thinking something along the lines of "WHAT THE HALIBUT?! YOU COULDN'T HAVE TOLD ME EARLIER?!" and "SERIOUSLY?! I KEPT THE GRANDSON OF THE OCTARIAN LEADER HOSTAGE?!"

...Long story short, I was freaking out, but I managed to keep my cool...somehow...

"Okay..." I started to say. "Well...uh, that was...surprising..."

"I warned you," Octave said calmly.

I took a deep breath. I still just couldn't wrap my head around what I just heard.

"So..." he said, "Now, you know."

"Alright," I said while sighing again. "I think I'm good now."

"Good."

I extended my hand for him to pull me up. He did, and I slowly got out of bed. My legs had fallen asleep, but I stomped on the ground to wake them up. As we walked out of the room, we were startled by Callie holding a tray of small biscuits. We also startled her, and she almost dropped the entire tray.

"H-Hey, guys," she said while shaking a little, "Have a good talk?"

"Uh..." Octave and I awkwardly said in unison. "Sorta..." We smiled nervously earning a raised eyebrow from her.

"Okay...whatever..." she said after a second. "Anyway, either one of you boys want a crabby cake? They're fresh from the oven."

"Actually, I _am_ hungry..." I said as my stomach grumbled.

"You ought to be," Marie added while sitting on a nearby chair munching on one. "We hadn't eaten in forever."

I took a crabby cake and bit a piece. After a second, I shouted "Two more, please!" as I grabbed a couple from the tray.

Callie grinned and offered some to Octave. He took two and leaned on the wall to eat them. Callie then took the last one on the tray and sat next to her cousin. The Cap'n came from the nearby oven, saw the tray, and sighed sadly.

"Ye kids couldn't have left me some?" he said.

We all looked at each other and chuckled nervously.

"Sorry, Cap'n," I said. "It's been a while since we've eaten, you know?"

"Aye, it has. Which is why I've got more cooking just for me."

Octave and I looked at the girls.

"The guy loves crabby cakes," Marie said while shrugging. "What else can I tell you?"

We moved on, and I tried to piece together exactly what happened over the two days I was out.

"So," I started, "did anything happen while I was sleeping?"

"Hmm..." Callie pondered. "Not too much stuff, actually. Except for the Octostriker."

"Wait, Octo-what?"

"Inkopolis had another invasion," Marie explained. "This time, a giant Octarian with a propeller on his head was shoot Octostrikes at everything."

"Octostrikes? What are-?"

"They're Octarian versions of Inkstrikes. Only Octostrikers don't need to charge up to launch one."

(Inkstrikes are basically giant ink missiles.)

"Oh. Then what happened to it?"

"Well, it kinda went like this," Callie said. "Agent 2 and I agreed to go to the city and try to get rid of it. It was inking a lot of ground in Urchin Underpass with several other Octarians, too. Once we got there, we were almost ambushed by one of the missiles. We managed to work our way up to the Octostriker, and we splatted it."

"That sounded like it was easy."

"It wasn't entirely easy," Marie said while giggling. "You should've seen Agent 1. She-"

"AAH! Don't tell him what happened!" Callie shrieked.

"Oh, no. I'm telling him."

"Don't you _dare...!"_

"What happened?" I asked.

"She-MMM!" Marie was interrupted when Callie changed to her squid from and jumped onto Marie's face. Callie struggled to keep her cousin's mouth closed as Marie continuously tried to pry her off. The whole scene was funny to see, but after a while, I decided to give them both a break. We had more pressing issues to attend to.

I grabbed Callie and tried to pull her off. She didn't budge.

"Come on, Agent 1," I pleaded. "Let her go."

"I wasn't gonna tell him anyway!" Marie said. "I promised, remember?"

Callie froze and released from her. She changed back to her humanoid form and looked at her.

"Right, I forgot," she said nonchalantly.

"Okay," Octave broke in loudly. "Now that we have a recap of what happened, can we get back to a more serious issue? Like, oh, I don't know, the fact that we need to get moving again?!"

"He's right. He told me something interesting about the Octarian leader a while ago, but I promised to keep it a secret."

"That's not right," Marie said sternly. "If there's something that he needed to tell us about their leader, we all should know about it. No secrets."

Octave and I really didn't expect her to say that so soon.

"W-Well, uh, w-we can't give you all the details..." I said. "We _can_ tell you that his name is DJ Octavio."

"Really?" Callie said skeptically. "That's his name? He can't really be a DJ, right?"

"Yes," Octave sighed, "he is a DJ..."

"Anything else that we should know?" Marie asked. Octave shook his head.

"Not anything too important..." he said.

The Cap'n had frozen in place with more crabby cakes in hand (and mouth).

"Did ye say 'Octavio' be his name?" he asked gravely.

I nodded. The Cap'n sat down on the couch and looked down.

"Of all Octarians, I should've known that he'd be the cause of all of this..." he groaned.

"Cap'n," I said cautiously. "Do you...know who he is...?"

"He and I have a history. He's fierce, ruthless, determined, and very crafty when it comes to machinery, music, and inking turf."

He paused for a minute.

"He was a close friend of mine before the Great Turf War..."

That changed the view of the situation so drastically. The room was silent with utter shock from the rest of us.

"Now I know that they must never know that his grandson is right in this room," I thought as I glanced at Octave.

"That war was such a massive turning point in history..." Callie said kinda sadly. "It's unbelievable..."

"If I know that octopus, he's working on getting revenge for us winning the war," the Cap'n continued.

"Grampa...we had no idea..." Marie said sadly. "This was more personal than we realized..."

"It's alright. At some point, I knew that we would meet again. I just didn't know how far he'd rise in rankings. Regardless, we can't let this slow us down. Ye need to get moving if ye wanna get those last three zapfish."

"Last three?" I asked. "So, we don't have that much work left. Great!"

"It doesn't sound like much, but Octavio might've upped his defenses," Octave said. "We'll still need to be careful."

"Let's see...we have two baby zapfish and the big one to go, right? Why don't we split up?"

"Split up? Are ye sure, Agent 3?" the Cap'n said. "Sounds a bit risky..."

"We might be able to get two smaller jobs done faster if we did," Octave agreed.

The Cap'n thought for a moment and finally agreed that this could work.

"Aye. Sounds good, bucko. But to be safe, Agents 1 and 3 will search together, and 2 and 4 will search elsewhere. No one swims alone. Sound fair?"

"Finally!" I heard Callie whisper happily.

While Callie liked the division, Marie wasn't too thrilled. I knew that she still didn't completely trust Octave, and now she had to work with him. Octave looked a little skeptical, too. I don't think he was too glad about being teamed up with someone who doesn't exactly like him. But either way, they reluctantly agreed.

We all grabbed our weapons and tanks and headed out. The sun was kinda bright, and the air was breezy. We walked out with the Cap'n wishing us luck on our searches.

Marie and I led the others to the big kettle where we last fought a Great Octoweapon. Once Octave saw what it looked like, he said that he saw these big kettles somewhere else before. Marie glared at him with annoyance.

"You mean, you could've showed us where the big kettles were if we just showed you what we were talking about?" she said. "Some help you are..."

"I'm just surprised that you didn't think to ask me where the kettles were before I joined your team..." Octave added sarcastically. "Some interrogator you are, huh?"

"Ugh! Guys, do I really have to be paired up with this jerk for the mission?"

"And do I need to be stuck with her? Can't we switch?"

"Hey," I said as i shrugged, "I just came up with the plan, not the division. But if it bothers you two so much, we can switch."

"I don't know," Callie said while giggling. "I think these two might go well together."

"What?! How?!" they exclaimed at the same time.

"See? They agreed to disagree with me." Callie and I laughed while the other two blushed and looked away from each other quickly.

Eventually, Octave led us to a big kettle which was open.

"Excellent," I said. "After we get this one and the other kettle, it's time to get the Great Zapfish."

"Who wants to go in first?" Callie asked.

"We'll do it," Octave said. "The faster I'm finished being with her, the better."

Marie huffed in anger.

"So, where's the next one?" I asked.

Octave pointed in the direction of the next big kettle.

"Thanks, Agent 4!" Callie said happily. "Good luck. And try to go easy on Agent 2. She's cool once you get to know her."

"And Agent 2," I said. "Same goes for you. He's not all bad. Just try to be a little nicer to him."

The two glared at each other.

"Fine..." they said reluctantly.

Callie and I wished them good luck, and we went on our way.

"Do you think that they'll actually focus on destroying the Octoweapon instead of each other?" I asked.

"I think they'll be fine," Callie said with a hint of doubt in her voice. "I hope..."

With that, we set out to find the other kettle.

* * *

After some time, we finally found the kettle. Although we knew that it was still missing, we thanked the Great Zapfish that we found it and that it was already opened.

"Ladies first?" I said jokingly.

"Age before beauty, Agent 3," Callie retorted while gesturing for me to go first.

"Well, you got me there...and you're lucky I _am_ older than you."

We both dove into the kettle and landed in another green ink pool. I looked around to see a giant lake of Octarian ink with four pipes sticking out from it. All of the pipes surrounded a big arena area where I assumed was where the boss was gonna show up.

"You ready?" Callie asked.

I nodded. Before we went up to the launchpad in front of us, I noticed a sign saying "Don't use bombs". If the Octarians had a sign that said that, that had to be important for us to know.

We launched over to the arena where we were greeted by DJ Octavio's voice.

"You Inklings just don't know when to give up, do you?" he said.

"Nope," I said.

"Well, you ought to right now! If not, you'd better be prepared to be devoured by Great Octoweapon Number 4: THE RAVENOUS OCTOMAW!"

"Does he do that announcement every time?" Callie asked.

"Pretty much..." I said.

We then saw a baby zapfish get lowered into one of the pipes, but we were surprised to see a giant set of metallic teeth (with an Octarian tentacle for a tongue. I know, it's weird, but it's the truth...) come up and snag the captured fish. Then, a giant robot that looked like a mix of a baby zapfish, a microphone, and a shark came from the pipe, and it looked like it was hastily put together. It roared loudly and sunk back into the ink.

"Where did it go?!" Callie said nervously. Suddenly, the Octomaw's teeth appeared around us.

"That doesn't look good..." I said. "Run!"

"Where?" I thought fast. And by fast, I mean I just shot the teeth with ink. Usually, a good dose of ink is the best solution, and unsurprisingly, the teeth broke and made an opening.

We took off to get from the circle of teeth just before it chomped down. Once it did, it came from up and stared at us sadly. I guessed it somehow stunned itself.

"Now what?" I said.

Callie used her roller to break the rest of the teeth revealing the hole where the tentacle came from. Then, the Octomaw sank back down into the lake and tried to chomp us again. As we avoided it, we sank into our ink to hide from it. It completely lost track of us.

"How do we destroy it?" Callie asked.

"We need to expose that tentacle in its mouth," I explained. "But I don't think that'll be too easy to do. We'll need to make it come out, and we can splat it."

"Can we throw something at it to make it come out?"

I then remembered the sign. "We need bombs..."

We came up with a plan and rose out of the ink to get its attention. Callie swam in another direction.

"Hey, Octomaw! Over here!" I yelled. It turned to me and swam over to chomp me. I got away from its mouth,, and it got stunned. I quickly threw a bomb in its mouth which instantly exploded. The robot fish then sank back down and left its mouth open with the tentacle exposed. "Perfect. NOW!"

Callie yelled a high-pitched battle cry as she slammed her roller onto the tentacle making it burst instantly.

"Good work," I said, "Now, get to the other side! Hurry!"

We squid-jumped there with the Octomaw spewing ink from its mouth. It then came from the ground and sprouted new metal teeth. It roared again, and the cycle began again.

We ran the same plan again, but this time the Octomaw seemed to move a lot faster. We managed to splat the tentacle again; and after we did, it sprouted gold teeth.

"Well, look who's trying to be fresh," Callie said with a grin.

The teeth were actually harder to break this time. Once we broke enough teeth to throw a bomb, Callie threw it in and splat the tentacle.

I squid-jumped away from the robot as it sparked and exploded. The force of the blast made me go off-course from my landing spot and land on my back.

"Huh," I said. "That wasn't too bad. I thought it was gonna be much worse."

I then remembered that I should've warned Callie about the blast. But she was nowhere to be found...

"Uh...Agent 1?!" I called out. Suddenly, I heard her screaming from above. She was about to land right in the center of the arena. I swam as fast as I could to catch her. I jumped and switched to humanoid form and caught her in my arms. We then rolled over each other on the ground, and when we stopped, Callie was lying on top of me...

"Whew," I sighed with relief. "That was _way_ too-"

I saw that Callie was silent and breathed heavily while clutching her chest.

"W-What's wrong?" I asked with concern as we sat up.

"I...I..." she struggled to say. It then reoccurred to me that she just fell from several feet in the air...and that she was NOT a fan of heights at all. She was in complete shock. I interrupted her attempt to speak by giving her a comforting hug.

"It's okay...you're safe now..." I said softly.

"I-I..." she continued to whimper as I pulled back from her.

She then surprised me when she pulled me in closer and pressed her lips against mine. (Again, no joke!)

I was so shocked by this that I almost pulled away, but once I realized what was happening, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment.

After a bit of time, we slowly separated and froze when our eyes met. She had lost her sunglasses, and I then noticed something interesting when I saw her eyes up close. They were a golden color...with light brown pupils shaped like four-sided stars...and they were extremely pretty to look at...

We then noticed that we were holding each other a little longer than we thought. We both blushed, released each other, and quickly got up.

"Ahem..." I said nervously. My body felt like it was on fire. "W-Well, uh...t-that was...um..."

"Y-Yeah..." she said still blushing.

We silently agreed not to talk about this when we leave.

We freed the captured zapfish and made our way back to the surface. We were surprised to see Octave waiting for us.

"How long were you there?!" I asked.

"Long enough..."

"How'd things go on your end?" Callie asked. "And where's Agent 2?"

Octave told us about their experience with a giant robotic clam that tried to roll over them as we went back to the shack. Afterwards, Marie had taken the zapfish back to the shack.

"Not much else to tell," he finished. "What about you two?"

Callie and I looked at each other, and we both blurted out, "Nothing!"

"Okay..." he said slowly. "Well, I see you got the zapfish. Good work, anyway. Let's head back to the shack."

We nodded and followed him back. Needless to say, the trip back was kinda...no, not "kinda"...EXTREMELY awkward. But deep down, I think Callie really wanted that moment to last a little longer...and, honestly, I wanted it to be a bit longer, too...

However, despite how drastic and unexpected this whole adventure turned out to be, I was reassured of at least one little thing:

I now know that I'm not the only Inkling with different eyes...

* * *

 ** _AN:_ And now the relationship grows! Now, let's see where it goes from here...**

 **See ya next time!**


	17. Dubstep Devastation

Splatoon: Agent 3 Begins

Chapter 16: Dubstep Devastation

With all the young zapfish rescued and the Great Octoweapons destroyed, I thought that things were starting to get easier from now. Once again, I was wrong because once we all got back to the shack, we were surprised at what we saw. Or, rather whom we didn't see there...

"Cap'n Cuttlefish?" I called out. "We're back! And we got the zapfish!"

There was no response...

"Uh...Gramps?" Callie called out worriedly. "Are you here?"

Marie came from his bedroom and shook her head..

"He's not here..." she said in a low voice. "He never leaves this area if we're on a mission...where could he have gone?"

"I think I have an idea where..." Octave said uneasily. We followed him back outside where he pointed to spot of Octarian ink on the side of the shack.

"Oh, no..." I said fearfully.

"They didn't..." Callie gasped in disbelief.

"They did," Octave said gravely. "They captured him."

"Well, we need to find him! Now!" Marie said.

"Where would they take him?" I asked.

Suddenly, the communicator that the Cap'n used to talk to us started making a lot of static noise.

"I think we're about to find out," Marie said.

We went back into the shack and started hearing a voice come from it followed by some scratching from turntables.

"Who is-?!" I started to say.

"Yo, Inksquirts!" we heard DJ Octavio yell.

"Aah! It's the final boss!" Callie exclaimed. (I have no idea why she said that...)

"What've you done with the Cap'n and the Great Zapfish, you jerk?!" Marie demanded.

"Like I'm gonna tell you!" he said defiantly. "You may have gotten all the tiny fish, but I don't need them anymore! My plan's already in action. My beats and my ink will take Inkopolis by storm! INKOPOLIS IS MINE! And there's NOTHING you can do to stop me!"

"You'd think with a personality that loud and music so 'fresh'," I said. "He would have his own radio channel..."

"ARE YOU TRYING TO DISRESPECT ME?!"

"Maybe...?" (I really didn't expect him to take that so personally...)

"THAT'S IT!" he roared angrily. "NOW, YOU'VE DONE IT! COME UP HERE ALONE, AND WE'LL FINISH THIS! I'LL SHOW YOU HOW FRESH I AM! DJ OCTAVIO, OUT! PEACE!" The communicator shut off.

"Oh, man," Callie groaned in disgust. "He is so...what's the word I'm looking for?"

"There's probably several words that can finish that sentence," Octave said, "but let's not worry about that for now. Let's focus on getting Agent 3 up to him to get Cap'n Cuttlefish and the Great Zapfish back."

"Yeah," I said. Then I paused when I realized what he said. "WAIT! ME?! By myself?! Why?!"

"He wanted you to go up there alone. Besides, someone needs to be here to protect the city if you fail."

"Wow...you sure are encouraging..." I said sarcastically.

"Don't worry. I got a plan, and its foolproof."

"But _you_ came up with it..." Marie said receiving an eye-roll from him.

"Sassiness aside," I continued. "What's your plan?"

"Quick question, you two," he said to Callie and Marie. "Can either of you sing?"

The girls looked at each other and grinned.

"Um, heh," Callie chuckled. "You're talking to two of the freshest pop stars in Inkopolis, mister."

"Oh...wait, what?!" Octave said in surprise. "You two are pop stars?"

"Yep!" I confirmed. "They're pretty well-known in Inkopolis, actually. They're _great_ singers."

"That's...That's perfect!" Octave said enthusiastically. "Now, this should be easy!"

"But, what _is_ your plan?! And why did you say that this will be easy?!"

He pulled me outside and pointed up to a floating platform.

"No time to explain!" he said quickly. "Get up to that platform. You'll know what to do once you get up there. We'll handle the rest."

I was too stunned to try to ask anymore questions. I gave up trying and squid-jumped over to the platform. There was nothing there except another launchpad, and instantly, I got the idea of what I had to do next.

"Okay," I thought carefully. "A launchpad is here, but where will I go if I get launched from it?"

I was brought out of my thoughts when Callie landed by me.

"Special last-minute delivery!" she announced.

"Delivery...?" I asked. She took off my headset and gave me another one that looked identical to it. "Uh...thanks...?"

"He told me to give it to you," she said shrugging. "I don't know why..."

She shuffled uncomfortably. I could tell that she was trying hard to keep from making things weird, and I couldn't blame her...

But as I looked at her, the more and more I realized how ridiculously intense and serious that events are right now.

"Um...Agent 3?" Callie said worriedly. "You okay?"

I shook my head. I felt my hearts beat faster than ever as I drew a shaky breath.

"This is crazy..." I said quietly.

"What is?"

"THIS! ALL OF IT!" I shouted. "A crazy octopus is planning to take over my new city, and I just indirectly challenged him to a one-on-one battle. I might be the only one who might be able to stop this insanity, and if I fail-"

"You're not gonna fail!"

"What if I do? Octavio takes over, and it'll be all my fault. All those people in the city won't even know what hit them, and-"

Callie cut me off by slapping me in the face. I could tell that she's had enough of my moping.

"WOULD YOU SNAP OUT OF IT?!" she yelled as she firmly put her hands on my shoulders. "You are _not_ gonna lose! We know that you're gonna beat OCtavio, and you'll save Inkopolis! The Cap'n believes in you; the Great Zapfish believes in you; Octave and Marie believe in you; and I believe in you, too! I know you can do this! You've come too far to start doubting yourself now! Now's the time to show that big Octo-jerk what Inklings made of!"

I rubbed my cheek and took a deep breath. Maybe that slap was what I needed.

"C-Callie..." I stammered. "I-I...uh, needed that. Thank you..."

"You comforted me when I was scared. Now, it's my turn to comfort you..." She hugged me tenderly. "I just know that you can do it..."

I hugged her back and sighed. She was right. I was getting worked up over nothing.

We separated, and I honestly felt much better after that. Callie then surprised me when she pulled out my glasses.

"Where'd you get those?" I asked. "I thought I left those at your place..."

"I took them with me just in case..." she confessed. "I know you probably don't need them now, but..."

"Actually," I said with determination. "You know what? I'll wear them!"

"Why?"

"That way, Octavio can finally see the Inkling with red eyes."

Callie grinned and nodded. I took out my contacts, put them in their case, and handed it to her. She then put on my glasses for me.

"Well?" I asked.

"Like I said, you look better with red eyes," she said while smiling widely. "You ready?"

I nodded. We both dove into the launchpad and launched toward a U.F.O. with a big kettle resting on top of it. We stared at the kettle and realized that this was gonna take me straight to Octavio. I walked on top of it and prepared to sink into it, but Callie stopped me.

"Fin, wait..." she said. "Before you go...please...please...promise me something..."

"What?"

"Promise me that you'll never, ever, EVER give up, and that you'll come back to me okay...okay?"

I stared at her for a second. She really had a lot of faith in me...and I couldn't let her or anyone else down.

I nodded firmly and made three crosses over my chest.

"I promise," I said without hesitation. "I'll never give up, and I'll be back."

Callie smiled warmly and squid-jumped back toward the shack.

I took a deep breath and dove into the kettle.

There was no turning back now...

* * *

Now, for some reason, it didn't occur to me that the kettle might have been some kind of a trap, but by the time I dove into it and saw that it closed off so I couldn't escape, it was too late to even bother to think about that possibility. Once it closed, I heard the U.F.O. power up and felt it start moving. It started spinning around faster and faster until I felt it shoot upward. Also, I want to make this even more clear: this was taking place with me _inside_ of it, and I'll say that it was fun but terrifying at the same time. It felt like being on one of those spinning teacup rides while riding a roller coaster.

Suddenly, the thing slowed down to a complete stop. It flipped over and dumped me into a pool of bright orange ink. Once my head stopped spinning, I looked around and saw that I was on some kind of big platform floating really high up. I could also make out some giant metal tentacles coming from beneath the platform (And I couldn't tell exactly what was keeping them suspended in the air like that). Before I could get a better look at where I was, I saw something that made me internally jump for joy.

Directly in front of me was a massive-and I mean, MASSIVE-dark blue zapfish staring at me blankly.

"The Great Zapfish..." I said in awe. "I've finally found you. Huh, they were right. It's huge!"

"Eh? Agent 3?" a familiar voice said. "What are ye doing here?"

I then saw the Cap'n on another platform tied up to a pipe and struggling to get free.

"Cap'n Cuttlefish! You're okay! That's a relief. Don't worry, I'll get you out of here."

"Get back! It's a trap!"

"Trust me. I know..."

I walked slowly up to the Great Zapfish and tried to touch it. However, a bright green light came from above us, and the next thing I knew, the Great Zapfish shot up into the sky and got sucked into some type of circular machine. The machine sparked to life along with the rest of the area. The large mechanical tentacles lit up with red lights and small spotlights at the ends and started spinning. I noticed that they were actually speakers. The flying machine then descended slowly revealing that the pilot of the machine was none other than DJ Octavio himself.

He was a full-grown, reddish-violet octopus wearing a golden samurai helmet. He was sitting in a pool of fuchsia ink with two of his tentacles crossed together showing a green X on one of them, and he stared at me with big, green, angry eyes. His machine was shaped like a big dome with four cannons under where he piloted it and two giant metal fists on the sides of the entire thing. What I managed to also notice was that Octavio was surrounded by big stalks of wasabi in his cockpit. (And if you think I'm squidding about that, I kinda wish that I was...but that isn't even the strangest part. Just wait...)

"So..." he said menacingly. "You've finally arrived..."

"Yeah," I said trying to be brave. "Surprised?"

He glared at me. "Actually, I'm glad you showed up. Now, I can see you in person. And, what do you know? I was right! You do have red eyes."

"Is that a problem?"

"No. I just now know how satisfying it'll be to remix your face!" He laughed evilly.

"Remix...?" I thought. Then it hit me. Octavio was literally using a large turntable set to control his machine. And that's when I realized that things are gonna get weird... (See? Told you.)

A dramatic sting of music played loudly. It played a second time, but this time Octavio pulled out two wasabi stalks and started scratching the turntables. Music started playing as he did and several lights started shining behind him. The final battle began...

Octavio fired some torpedoes (which I'm pretty sure had little faces on them), and I shot them with my Hero Shot. They exploded, and he began to move backward. I followed him and tried to hit him directly, but he had some kind of invisible force field that protected him. At one point, he fired one of his metallic fists at me, and I was nearly crushed by it.

"Think, Fin, think!" I thought. "There's gotta be something that I can hit him with..."

Just then, he fired another fist, and this time, I shot at it. It slowed down, suddenly made a complete 180, and rocketed toward him. Octavio freaked out as the fist slammed into him, pushing him back further and shattering into several pieces. He growled angrily. I finally new a weakness. His fist regenerated at the cannon.

After shooting back his fists and pushing him back to the edge of a short pathway, Octavio then furiously started scratching the tables. The lights behind him changed color wildly until he ducked into his ink. Suddenly, a really big octopus/disco ball-shaped missile wearing party sunglasses (again, I wish I could make this up...) fired from the center of his machine. It moved slowly but looked dangerous.

"DODGE THIS!" he bellowed. Instead of dodging, I shot at the missile and it rocketed back at him. He launched back with one of his metal fists. I shot it back a second time, and he returned it to me. Finally, I shot it one more time, and Octavio started panicking. He was defenseless as the missile crashed into him, making the entire machine perform a backflip. Octavio was stunned for a second but shook it off and started moving again.

"SLIMY LITTLE HIPSTER!" he yelled.

"Quote of the year, ladies and gentlesquids..." I thought. I saw a launchpad open up. I swam to it and squid-jumped to another platform with a pathway. Now that I knew what I had to do, I tried to survive long enough for him to shoot another missile at me. That proved to be more of a challenge not only because he was firing a sound laser thing at me almost constantly but also because he seemed to be speeding up his attacks.

The battle went on for a very long time; and as I continued on, I started getting more and more tired. I almost got splatted several times, but I held my own. I realized again that this was gonna be an extremely difficult and decisive battle. One wrong move, and it's all over...

Before I started getting nervous again, I thought of Callie's words and the promise I made to her...

While I wasn't too sure of how things quickly escalated from me stepping off a train to me fighting a flying DJ, the one thing that I did know was that I was the only one who could protect the city, and I was gonna do my best to do it.

"I made a promise to you, Callie," I thought. "And I'm gonna keep it!"

I gripped my Hero Shot tighter, took a deep breath, and pressed on with even more determination...

* * *

 ** _AN:_ Oh, boy! It's final boss time! This part was kinda hard to write because there are so many details put into this fight. I think most of us know what's gonna happen in the next chapter...but then again, I might tweak it just a little more...**

 **Regardless, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Review, follow, and favorite if you want. And I'll see you all next time!**


	18. The Power of Pop Music

Splatoon: Agent 3 Begins

Chapter 17: The Power of Pop Music

"This is taking forever," I thought as I blew up more torpedoes. "How much longer can this go on?"

"You ought to give up, you impudent inksquirt!" Octavio laughed tauntingly. "This baby can go on forever!"

"I had to ask..." I groaned.

To give an idea of how insane this battle was, here's a quick list of the ammunition that he had: Octorpedoes ( _his_ name for them, not mine...), giant metal fists, a giant guitar rift-sounding laser, suction cup-shaped pods that turned into Octarians (and I had no clue how _that_ worked), and of course, the shade-wearing giant missiles that he shot out once he got really, really mad.

And to make matters worse, he fired them so quickly and sporadically that I had to constantly keep moving to avoid getting hit...

AND to make it even worse, he was constantly moving farther away with every counter attack that I hit him with...so I had to keep running after him while maneuvering through some obstacles, too. Yeah...needless to say, "hard" is not a word I would use to describe how difficult this was...

I tried to hide in my ink to catch my breath, but he was always watching me so I couldn't hide in it.

"This can't get any worse..." I said to myself. Again, I NEED to stop saying stuff like that because I immediately got splatted by that laser thing (which I now remembered was called a Killer Wail, I think). I respawned at a checkpoint that I passed. I was lucky enough that there was one that I would land on every time I squid-jumped. As I stood up, I felt weaker, and that was the last thing I needed at the moment.

"I..." I said while trying to catch my breath, "I...can't stop...now..."

"Someone's looking tired!" Octavio shouted tauntingly as he fired more Octorpedoes. I struggled to force myself to move out of the way. I knew I wasn't gonna last much longer at this rate...and Octavio could tell...

I heard him chuckle evilly, and he fired one of the giant fists at me, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to avoid it at the speed I was going. Once again, I got splatted...

My thoughts about the situation ran through my head as I respawned.

"Okay," I thought as I stayed below in the ink of the respawn point. "So, let's review. I'm fighting a giant robot piloted by a dubstep-loving octopus with all my energy and losing, and I don't know if I can take another splatting. My friends are nowhere to help me right now, and I'm most likely about to be destroyed in a few minutes. Well, I can at least say that I had a good life. I made new friends, had an adventure, and even had my first kiss. I just wish that I could've written down what happened so far or something. No one will ever believe what I'd been through. But, at least now (and I really, really, REALLY, REALLY hope that I'm right this one, single time...) I know for sure that this situation cannot get ANY worse from now! I'm in the worst possible position, and there's no way that it can actually get-"

Suddenly, I felt something grasp one of my tentacles and pull me down into a pipe at the bottom of the respawn point. When I came out of the other side of the pipe, I instantly began to think of the possibilities of how things could somehow get worse...but surprisingly, this was one rare time where my luck took a better turn...

I looked up and saw that a small orange octopus had pulled me to a hidden area underneath where I was fighting Octavio. I could hear him in his machine hovering around searching for me.

"Octave?!" I asked in shock. "How did you get up here?! You know what? Doesn't matter! It's about time you showed up!"

The octopus looked at me and seemed to smirk.

"Wrong octopus," it said in a familiar sweet female voice. That voice gave me a chill because I recognized who it was...

"O-Oc-Oc-" I stuttered. I quickly changed back to my human form and tried to back away from her.

"Yeah, that's right," she said as she changed back to her human form, "it's me..."

"OCTAVIA?!" I shouted.

* * *

Of all places help would come from, I never, EVER could've guessed that it would be from her.

"W-What the...?!" I tried to say. "Why are you-?!"

"Helping you out?" she finished. "I'll explain later. And don't speak too loud, or he might hear us."

I nodded uneasily.

"So, hero," she said sarcastically, "you have a plan to finally beat him?"

"No...but your brother supposedly has one, but he hasn't done anything yet."

"What is it?"

"I have no idea..."

She deadpanned.

"Well, we're sunk..." she groaned.

"He did ask if two of my friends could sing."

"Wait, can they? And do they sing pop songs?"

"Yeah. But how is that such a big deal?"

"You probably didn't know, but Octavio is our-"

"Grandfather. I know. Octave told me already."

"Well, he and I know for a fact that there's one thing that he'll be weak to: music."

"What?! But he's using it against me..."

"Yeah, but he's weak to it, too. If you wanna stand a chance against him, you'll need to fight music with music of your own."

"Okay, but how...?" I tried to think and removed my headset. As I looked at it, I wondered why Octave wanted me to have this one specifically, but as I pondered, I then saw something that made me physically facepalm: the headset was TURNED OFF.

"I am so stupid..." I groaned as I shook my head. I turned on the headset. It made a static noise and cleared up to when I could clearly the others yelling for me. I put the headset back on. "I'm here, guys!"

"WHAT THE HALIBUT, DUDE?!" I heard Octave yell angrily. "We've been trying to contact you this whole time!"

"You had us worried!" Callie and Marie yelled equally as angrily. "We thought you were splatted!"

"I'm sorry...but I'm okay, for now..." I knew that I was never going to hear the end of this.

"Now that you can here us," Octave continued. "I can finally tell you that the plan is in action."

"What are you gonna do?"

"THIS!"

Suddenly, the music that DJ Octavio was playing stopped.

"What's this?" he asked. "What happened to my beats?!"

"Octave, what happened?" I asked.

"Hit it, ladies!" he shouted.

The sound of static filled the air, and the next thing I heard was the introduction of a pop song. I recognized the Squid Sisters' voices singing to it, and I recognized the lyrics and started humming to it involuntarily.

"Radio override activated!" Marie announced.

I heard Callie's voice but it sounded a bit garbled.

"You're holding that upside down again!" Marie said.

"Sorry..." Callie said more clearly. "Agent 3, can you hear our song?"

"Yeah, I can!" I said excitedly.

"I feel like that's your cue. You might need this," Octavia said with a grin as she handed me an Inkzooka can. "Show him who's boss, Agent 3."

Listening to this song gave me more energy and confidence. I nodded at Octavia in thanks and made my way up to the checkpoint.

"Looking for me, Octavio?" I said with a smile as I resurfaced. He turned his machine to face me, and I saw him dancing in the cockpit to the beat of the song. "Catchy song, am I right?"

"YOU!" he yelled fiercely. "I knew you had something to do with this. This song may be fresh, but it won't be enough to beat me!"

His machine was basically going haywire at this point and constantly shot things at me. With a newfound strength, I easily countered and dodged them all and also managed to do it to the beat of the music. We were on the final stretch of the platform, and I continued to push back Octavio and gradually weaken him more and more. Finally, things were going my way.

"I don't know how you guys are doing it," I said, "but keep it up!"

"Give it to him, Agent 3!" Marie cheered.

"It's time for the final push!" Callie said. "You can do it! CHARGE!"

She was right. Before I knew it, I had pushed Octavio beyond the edge of the path.

"Almost there, bucko!" I heard the Cap'n shout. (He had somehow broken free from the rope and was dancing to the music, too.) "One more missile and he's done for!"

Octavio roared angrily.

"I will not lose to a tiny glob of ink!" he yelled. "Time to D-D-DROP THE SEA BASS!" (I chose to ignore that...threat?) He began scratching his turntables to launch another missile.

"Alright...this is it..." I said as I got prepared. The path had narrowed so much that now I had limited room to dodge anything. I shot more ink at more projectiles headed my way.

Finally, Octavio launched the missile, and it steadily got closer to me. I shot it back at him, and he launched it back at me again. I hit it a second time, but as it flew back to him, my Hero Shot clicked, and I realized something really bad.

"I'm out of ink?!" I shouted. "Come on!"

"FINLEY, WATCH OUT!" I heard everyone shriek. I saw that Octavio was gearing up to launch the missile back at me at high speed.

"EAT THIS, INKSQUIRT!" he yelled as he slammed it back with his remaining metal fist. The missile was moving toward me fast. And I had to think faster!

"AGENT 3!" I heard Octavia yell. "THE INKZOOKA!"

Time had slowed down again. I pulled out the Inkzooka can, opened it, and activated it. My Hero Shot turned into an Inkzooka, and when the missile was a few feet from me, I aimed at it and pulled the trigger.

A massive tornado blast of ink shot out from it and launched the missile back at Octavio even faster than he did. I saw his eyes grow wide with surprise as it crashed directly into him. The impact not only made the machine do another flip but also ejected Octavio from his machine. He flew in the air (in what seemed like slow motion) and landed upside down in front of me. Somehow, he was stuck there. The music had stopped.

"You...think...you've won?!" he yelled as he struggled to get up. "I'm not done just yet!"

I looked at his machine which was starting to spark and sputter uncontrollably. I then had an idea.

"Hey, Octavio..." I started. He looked at me skeptically. I aimed my Inkzooka at him. His eyes widened again, and he gulped. I blasted him with it, and he launched back to his machine getting stuck upside down against the lights on it (and breaking some on impact).

"...Oh, no..." he groaned. "...So sad...Cross-fade...to black..."

I heard him scream "NO!" as the machine shook and slowly flipped further backward with him. Suddenly, the machine grew bigger and bigger as it somehow managed to fill with orange ink until...

BOOM!

It exploded ,or should I say "inksploded" (...Sorry...) into a humongous ball of ink and covered everything...

"Stay fresh," I finished while breathing heavily.

It was finally over...

"YE DID IT, BUCKO!" the Cap'n cheered.

"Yeah..." I said. "I actually did it..."

"Just one thing. Where'd the Great Zapfish go?"

Just then, we heard a low buzzing/gurgling noise come from above. We looked up to see the Great Zapfish slowly floating down to us. It made another sound and gently nuzzled against my head (almost knocking me over, too...).

"You're welcome, Great Zapfish," I said happily. "Also, I didn't know you could fly..."

"I didn't either..." I heard Octavia say. She seemed to just materialize from out of nowhere next to me.

"Huh? Who's this?" the Cap'n asked.

"Octave's sister," I said. "Long story. I'll tell you later, but can we go now?"

"How do we?"

"You two think that she will give us a lift?" Octavia said while pointing to the Great Zapfish. It nodded and lowered down.

"How do you know it's a girl?" I asked.

"Those small zapfish are her kids," the Cap'n explained. "I didn't tell ye that?"

"No, but you learn something new every day."

The three of us boarded the back of the Great Zapfish.

With Octavio defeated, the Great Zapfish and the young ones rescued, and an invasion prevented, I couldn't help but smile during the ride back.

"You did it, Fin..." I thought to myself. "You actually did it..."

* * *

 _ **AN:**_ **There you go, folks. Through seemingly impossible odds, Finley managed to pull it off and beat DJ Octavio (with some help, of course). Now, all that's left is to wrap up this story in a nice little bow. That should take another chapter...or maybe two.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! See ya in the next one!**


	19. Nightly News Party

Splatoon: Agent 3 Begins

Chapter 18: Nightly News Party

While on the back of the Great Zapfish, I got a good view of just how far up we were. By now, it was really late at night, and the bright lights of Inkopolis were a beautiful sight to see while way up in the sky. Pretty soon, we were back in Octo Valley where we saw Octave and the girls waving excitedly at us from outside the shack.

The Cap'n and I slid off the Great Zapfish's back, and they came up to greet us. Callie and Marie hurried to the Cap'n and hugged him lovingly.

"Welcome back!" Octave said happily. "Glad you made it in one peace."

"I know," I said. "Me, too."

"Heh, good work." He and I shook hands.

"Octave, that last song was awesome! It really helped me out."

"Music provided by me through a hacked Octobot; and lyrics provided by-"

He was cut off when the Squid Sisters came from behind me and knocked me to the ground with a surprise hug.

"Those two..." he finished while smiling.

"YOU DID IT, FIN! YOU DID IT!" Callie said excitedly.

"WE KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!" Marie said equally as excited.

"I couldn't have done it without the four of you helping," I said as we got up.

"Four?" Marie asked.

"The three of you...and her..." I turned to point to Octavia, but she was gone.

"Who?" they asked.

"Uh...she was just right there..." I said. I began to think that maybe she didn't want to be seen. Not yet anyway. "Nevermind, I guess..."

They shrugged.

"Well, the Great Zapfish is back," I said. "And she's safe from Octavio."

"By the way, what happened to him?" Octave said. I know he doesn't have the same ideals as his grandpa, but I respect that he still cares about him...and I just blew him up...

"Well, uh...you see..." I tried to say. Suddenly, the Great Zapfish made a moaning noise and shuddered.

"Oh, no..." Callie said worriedly. "What's wrong, Great Zapfish?"

The zapfish suddenly began coughing violently. She eventually spat out a big blob of orange ink.

All of us collectively shuddered in disgust. The zapfish looked better, though.

"Okay, that is...unpleasant to watch..." I said uneasily. We were all surprised to see the glob of ink start moving.

"That's even worse!" Marie said while covering her mouth in shock.

The ink soon moved rolled off the object which turned out to be an unconscious DJ Octavio.

"Wait," Callie said nervously. "Did he just get eaten and...thrown up by the Great Zapfish?"

"Looks like it..." the Cap'n said.

"Ugh...I'm gonna be sick..." Marie said miserably. (Surprisingly, she looked even more green than normal...)

After pulling ourselves together, we managed to move Octavio into a giant snow globe (which was originally built to hold younger zapfish).

"Now that that's done," Callie said. "Why don't we bring the Great Zapfish home? We could also do a broadcast to at least let people know that it's back."

"Sounds like a plan," Marie agreed. "But don't you think it's a bit late for the broadcast? People might be asleep by now."

"Yeah, but remember, there are a lot of night owls in Inkopolis."

"True...alright, let's go...and please don't say 'night owl' or 'early bird' again for a while...too many bad memories..."

The girls shared a laugh and hopped on the Great Zapfish to go back to the city.

Once they were gone, the Cap'n looked at Octavio and shook his head in pity.

"Ye poor, poor old fool," he said calmly. "Ye just couldn't forgive and forget, and now look where it's got ye. Hope it was worth having your own grandson go against ye..."

Octave and I looked at him in surprise and at each other.

"Y-You knew this whole time?!" Octave asked.

"Of course. I wasn't born yesterday. I could see the family resemblance. Ye look almost just like him when he was a teenager."

"Well, at least, you're okay with it. But what about Callie and Marie? You're not gonna-"

"Don't worry, bucko, I won't tell the girls. I'll leave ye to tell them when ye're ready."

"Thank you." Then, Octave's smile melted.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Well, now that this whole situation's over, I guess that means that my time as a temporary Agent 4 has come to an end. The Cap'n explained to me that it's officially an Inkling title..."

"Aye," the Cap'n confirmed. "Numbered Agents are an Inkling title, but Octoling Agents are a special case..."

"Huh?"

"Instead of being an 'Agent 4', how about an 'Agent O', the first Octoling agent on an Inkling team?"

"Agent O, huh? Actually, I kinda like it."

"Welcome to the Squidbeak Splatoon, Agent O," I said while shaking his hand.

"Glad to be on the team, Agent 3," he said happily.

"So, what are you gonna do now?"

"I think I might stay here in Octo Valley. It's my home after all. By now, more of my people might be waking up from a musical nightmare, too. I wanna see how they're doing and help out as best as I can. Besides, I don't think that I'd fit in if I went to Inkopolis..."

"Good point, and I probably wouldn't be too welcome in an Octarian community either..."

"Yeah...I'll let you guys if something bad comes up, too..."

"Will we see you again?"

"Let's hope so. But just in case, what's your number?" He pulled out a cellphone. (I didn't even know he had one...)

We exchanged numbers, said our goodbyes, and he left. However, once he got far enough from the Cap'n, I realized that I forgot to tell him something. I hurried after him and caught up to him.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I almost forgot," I said. "Tell Octavia that Finley, aka Agent 3, says 'hi' and 'thanks'. And give her a hug for me. Okay?"

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Thanks for what exactly?" he asked.

"Don't worry, she'll...hopefully know what that means...and she might tell you..."

"Okay..." he said uneasily while shrugging. "But if I come back with several injuries, it's your fault..."

"Take care, Octave," I said while grinning. He couldn't help but laugh.

"You, too, Fin," he said. He turned into his octopus form and launched away into the night.

I went back to the Cap'n who was looking at DJ Octavio. The big octopus was still unconscious while floating in the snow globe.

"Ye know something, Agent 3?" the Cap'n said. "I bet he'd never imagine that his own grandson would fight alongside his enemy."

"I bet he'd never imagine being imprisoned in a giant snow globe either," I said. "But, honestly, Cap'n, I...kinda feel sorry for the guy. He's really been through a lot, but I'd like to know was it worth it to him..."

"I might have a word with him when he wakes up, but, in the meantime, why don't ye go see how the city's doing now that the Great Zapfish is back? Ye've done yer job. Now, go enjoy the results."

He saluted gratefully. I smiled and saluted back. We shook hands, and I took off to go into the grate that led to Inkopolis. I breathed a sigh of relief as I realized that I was finally going home.

I came out of the grate in the alley that we went into when we took Octave to the valley. I walked forward and almost tripped over something directly in front of me. I realized that it was my backpack.

"How did you get out here?" I said as I picked it up. I opened it and saw that my normal clothes were in there as well as a small note.

"Get changed and come to the studio. Love, C and M," it read.

I got changed quickly, packed my suit and headset into the backpack, and headed for the plaza.

* * *

Once I reached the plaza, several Inklings and jellyfish were all staring up at the Great Zapfish while she was wrapped around Inkopolis Tower. Everyone was cheering and celebrating.

I then heard the familiar Inkopolis News jingle, and the Squid Sisters appeared on the jumbo screen in their normal dresses.

"Okay," Callie began," it's late, but we've got a midnight news flash!"

"Wait," Marie said while yawning. "What's going on? And what time is it?"

"Oh, I get it..." I thought. "They're acting like this is news to them, too. Makes sense."

"The Great Zapfish is back on Inkopolis Tower!" Callie exclaimed as a picture of it appeared on the screen behind them.

"Whoa, for serious?! That's a shocker!" Marie said in mock surprise.

"Where was it anyway? I guess we'll never know."

"Well, hey, at least it's back now. That's cause for celebration, right?"

"Yeah! Let's rock!"

"...At this hour? Eh...oh, why not?! It's a great time to party. Let's do it!"

The crowd in the plaza cheered.

"We're gonna play a couple of songs for you all right here on the news," Callie said.

"Stay tuned as we get ready!" Marie added.

The news went to commercials.

Everyone began talking about how great it is that the Great Zapfish was back and that the Squid Sisters were gonna perform some songs.

I couldn't help but smile just a bit as I slipped into Spyke's alley. For some reason, he wasn't there.

I was about to open the door to the studio, but I was startled when Callie opened the door.

"There you are!" she said while grabbing my wrist. "Come in. We were waiting for you."

She pulled me into the studio.

"So, Fin, how does it feel to be a hero?" she asked as we walked toward the studio.

"Great," I said. "What makes it better is that nobody else will know that it was us. That way there's no unneeded attention."

"For you, anyway. Your telling this to a pop star..."

"Right, well, no extra unneeded attention for you or Marie."

"Heh, yeah. But you're about to get a lot of attention in a second."

"Why?"

"You'll see..." she giggled.

I then noticed that she was leading me to a completely different room.

"Before we go in, close your eyes."

"Callie, you know I not a fan of surprises."

"Just close them."

"Alright..." I said as I closed them. She led me into the room.

"Okay, stand still. Ready?" she said. I nodded. "Open them."

I was speechless when I opened my eyes and saw her, Marie, Spyke, and the shopkeepers.

"SURPRISE!" they all said joyfully.

I was greeted and congratulated by everyone.

"Thanks, everybody!" I said. "Not gonna lie. I definitely didn't expect this."

We all had a good laugh and continued to converse. As it turns out, everyone there knew about the Octarian situation. Well, to be specific, they only knew that I helped bring back the Great Zapfish...

Eventually, Marie checked the time and pulled Callie out of the room.

"Alright, everyone," she called out before they left. "Turn on the T.V. and enjoy the songs."

I turned on the T.V., and we all found some seats. The girls appeared on the screen.

"Alright, everybody," Callie said. "You all ready?"

We all cheered (along with all the other people outside in the plaza).

"Please enjoy our first song: _Calamari Inkantation_ ," Marie said. "This should sound familiar to some of you. Hope you like it!"

The music started up, and I recognized it immediately. It was the same song that they used to help me fight against DJ Octavio. The two of them danced and sang the words to it perfectly. I just knew that I recognized this song somehow because I was humming the words to myself.

"How do I know this song?" I thought. "I'll need to ask them where they got the words from at some point."

All of us in the room agreed that the song was absolutely fresh. Everyone else was asking me to tell how we got the Great Zapfish back to Inkopolis. Instead of giving all the details, I basically told them that some jerk out for revenge stole her and we had to rescue her from him. Luckily, they left it at that. Pretty soon, the song ended.

"Well, guys," Callie said almost disappointedly. "We only got one more song for you."

"But for this song," Marie added, "we're gonna end the broadcast here for the night. So enjoy the soothing sounds of our last song: _Maritime Melody_."

"Have a good night, everyone. And until next time..."

"Stay fresh!" they said as they did their pose. The credits for the news started rolling as the music began. It was a really calm and serene song that made you melt in your seat with relaxation. The Squid Sisters (who had already changed into more casual clothes) came back into the room, and we all applauded their performance. Some of the news crew came in to relax to the music playing, too. I really didn't expect so many people to be in here.

"Fin?" I heard Callie call. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure, what's up?" I said.

"I mean, in private..."

"Oh, okay..."

We went out in the hall and sat on a couch that was by the wall.

"So, what did-" I started to say. I was interrupted when she hit my arm. "Ow!"

"That's for forgetting to turn on your headset!" she said sternly.

"I said I was sorry...was that all you had to say or do to me?"

"Not quite." She slid closer to me and gently hugged me. "This is for keeping your promise to come back to me safely..."

That caught me off guard and made my hearts start racing. But her warm embrace calmed them...

"I told you..." I said while hugging her back. "I would never leave you...and I was determined to come back no matter what it took..."

We released from the hug but still held each other. I saw her blush, and I felt myself blush, too. Suddenly, we found ourselves kissing again (no joke...again...).

When we separated, we looked into each others eyes.

"H-How do you feel...?" Callie asked quietly.

"I-I was about t-to ask you..." I said nervously. "But...I liked that..."

"Honestly, I did, too..."

She smiled, hugged me again, and sighed contentedly.

"You're my hero, Finley..." she said.

Right now, I felt that everything was right in the world and that nothing else mattered except being with her...

* * *

 ** _AN:_** **And that's it for this chapter, guys. I got one more chapter left, but it'll be short and sweet, and hopefully it will wrap up this story well. See ya for the final part.**


	20. Epilogue

Splatoon: Agent 3 Begins

Epilogue

So, you may be wondering what happens next, right? Well, I'll tell you.

After the Great Zapfish returned, Inkopolis Plaza became busy with Inklings ready to compete in Turf Wars without worrying about power outages again. The shopkeepers had more business as a result, too. My friend Amy invited me to join a team that she was forming to compete in Ranked Battles, and after she explained to me what they were, I gladly accepted. I can't say that I had the best rank, but I had fun regardless.

Callie and Marie continued their pop star work and news work and eventually got word that the final Splatfest was about which one of them was better. They did keep their promise to support the opposing side, but they didn't let the public know that. I had to participate because it was the last one, and I chose to support Marie (at Callie's urging). They also performed solo songs that actually made their popularity skyrocket. In the end, Marie won, and Callie was a bit disappointed; but the two of them agreed that although the Splatfests were fun, they were glad that they were over now.

In Octo Valley, Cap'n Cuttlefish kept watch over DJ Octavio who swore to have his revenge, but none of us could see that happening. Octavia eventually explained to Octave (who explained to me) that she decided to help because she realized that their grandfather was gonna take the invasion too far, and she had to do something to keep him from succeeding. She won't really say that she's friends with us now, but she's good with no longer being enemies. We could live with that. Now, the two of them try to keep the Octarian race thriving, and they let us know if there's any kind of trouble brewing.

Also, after a little while, Callie and I finally decided to try going out with each other. With her popularity rising, things got a little complicated, but somehow we made it work. I was just surprised at how we were able to keep the paparazzi from making the whole city know about it.

Finally, sometime later, I really got to thinking about what my life was gonna be like now. I had managed to do so much within several days, and I had even risked my life. When I got back to my apartment, I got a pen and a notebook and instantly started writing down all that had happened when I first got to Inkopolis. I also wrote talked with my family back home and wrote letters to them, but I decided to not tell them about _everything_ that happened...not yet, anyway...

But, honestly, I'm glad that this whole adventure happened. I learned a lot and felt proud about what I was able to accomplish.

So, if you're looking to come to Inkopolis yourself, maybe you'll have an adventure of your own. Just make sure you're ready.

And always remember: STAY FRESH!

* * *

 _ **AN:**_ **And that's the end, everyone.**

 **I sincerely want to thank all of you so much for reading this story and giving it your support. This was really fun to write actually! I had my doubts about how well it was gonna go, but it came out better than I thought it would. Now all that's left is to wait for _Splatoon 2_ and see how that story's gonna go. I already have a plan in the works, but you'll see what it is soon enough.**

 **[Also, I wanna get this off my chest now. Originally, Marie and Finley were gonna end up together (Yes, she was my favorite Squid Sister at the beginning, but now I like them equally. There, I said it; get over it.), but it came to my attention through reviews and reading other fanfictions that the "Marie x Agent 3" pairing had been overdone a little bit. And with Callie apparently missing in the sequel, I feel like pairing her with Finley would make the next story more interesting. And I think I made the right choice...]**

 **Anyway, thank you again for reading, and I'll see you guys in _Splatoon 2_ (either on this site, or hopefully in game...if I ever get a _Nintendo Switch_...).**

 _ **Until next time... STAY FRESH!**_


End file.
